Meet the Family
by Constable Paperbag
Summary: Jaune didn't know how he did it, but somehow, he had managed to hold a steady relationship. But now, that accursed day had arrived. The day he would finally meet his partner's parents. Would they welcome him into the family? Or would they cast him out with fiery vengeance? Ah well, he could probably do this. I mean hey, all you needed was confidence right?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Constable Paperbag here. I thought I'd write something fun on the side, whilst working on my other story. Power is Red is a dark fic, so to even it out a bit, I figured something lighthearted would keep things a bit more happy. This will be updated often as well, although chapter length may not be as long. They'll definitely be longer than this prologue anyway.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Date Prep**

* * *

Jaune combed his hair for what must have been the hundredth time, as he stared hard at himself at the mirror.

This was it. The day most young men feared when in a relationship. For the longest time, Jaune hadn't really worried about such a day. After all, he never expected him of all people, to hold down a steady relationship for too long. Hell, he thought it'd be a miracle if it lasted even a week. He knew he was an awkward, goofy, mess of a man, who probably needed an instruction manual just to get through life.

But, somehow, he had done it. He had been together with someone for not just one, but three months. Three wonderful months that he wouldn't change for the world. He didn't know what he had done to get so lucky, but it had worked. Maybe his dad had been right all along. Maybe confidence really was all he needed.

… _Nah,_ Jaune thought as he remembered how his first date went. How he blushed and stammered each time he was given a compliment. How he nearly had a heart attack when his hand got held. Oh, his date had found it charming, and wanted to continue with their relationship with him. But he knew that it sure as hell wasn't his confidence that had won them over.

However, none of that was important right now. What was important, was what was about to transpire. You see, after three months of being in a healthy and stable relationship, his partner and requested he meet their family. They gave him a week's notice in advance, just to have him stop hyperventilating and give him a chance to prepare himself. Needless to say, next week had come much quicker than expected.

He was finally gonna meet his partner's family!

"C'mon, Jaune. You can do this. Be a man for god's sake!" he told himself as he still stared at himself in the mirror. Did he look presentable? How was his hair? Oh god, a million questions were running through his mind. What would the parents be like? Would they approve of him? What would he do if they didn't? How was his hair?

Jaune thought he was gonna have a heart attack. He had taken all the necessary precautions to prepare. He had practiced speaking formally, eating with proper table manners, dressing nicely to avoid looking like a slob. His older sisters often brought back their lovers to their house for dinner, so he had picked up a few things observing them. Though, Solomon Arc never did look too thrilled with anyone associated with his daughters in that way. Come to think of it, Jaune had alway been a bit protective of them too.

But now, the tables had turned. Now he'd be the one put under the spotlight. He had to make a good impression, he had to! His entire relationship could be on the line just from one little family meetup.

 _For god's sake, how was his hair!?_

"You're losing it, Jaune," he told himself, "Just breath. Remember what you've learnt, and this will be a cakewalk. Maybe just give 'em a bit of the 'ol Arc charm. That ought to convince 'em." Though come to think of it, his partner may have said hold back on that "charm" just a little bit. Unless he decided he no longer needed his tongue and/or legs.

Argh, he'd already screwed up and he hadn't even met them yet!

"Stay focused!" he scolded himself, "You're not gonna be some bumbling idiot around them. You'll be the ultimate smooth talker. Simply say what they want to hear, and they'll be putty in your hands." At least, that was another piece of advice his dad had given him. Still, at least he believed he would make a good impression.

Yes, when he told his own family that he was in a relationship, the reception had been… mixed. His dad had patted him on the back, boasting about how what a great wingman he was. His mother became both teary eyed - going on about how they "grow up so fast" - but also very sinister, as she threatened to destroy all who would defile her baby boy. His younger sisters didn't even believe him, but his older ones had. Two had given him the advice on what to say and how to dress, whilst the other two made great efforts to keep tabs on his partner, just so that they weren't doing anything to hurt Jaune behind his back.

His family was neat.

But now, it was time to meet family number two. And boy, was that time approaching. He didn't even realise, until he looked at his watch, that he had been staring at himself in the mirror for thirty minutes. He usually only needed fifteen. Though, he thought him going the extra mile was warranted for today.

He then got a text from his partner, telling him where to meet them. With deep breath, he walked away from the mirror - though quickly went back for one more sweep of the hair - and walked towards the door. This was the moment he had prepared for. It was time to meet his destiny!

Or, if things went poorly… his maker.

He made his way outside into Beacon's courtyard, where they had both agreed to meet. His partner was waiting for him, with a cheerful look on their face.

"They you are," they said, "I thought you chickened out. What kept you."

"Sorry for the wait," he said sheepishly, "I just wanted to make sure I looked good. Y'know, for your family."

" _Just_ my family?" they said with an eyebrow raised, causing Jaune to give his trademark blush and stammer.

"W-well yeah, but also for you too. I mean, it's the least I could do to make-" they silenced him with a quick kiss on the cheek. That always calmed him down.

"You don't need to crazy over this," they said softly, "They'll love you just as much as I do." The words were comforting, but it was what they said earlier that made Jaune's heart skip a beat.

 _Love_

His partner loved him? Well that was great, cause he loved them right back. Oh wow, his mind was processing too much to make any sense of this day. He then felt fingers entwine with his. He always loved it when they held hands.

"Now come on," they said reassuringly, "No more worrying. Everything's gonna be fine." Well, when they put it like that, how could Jaune not believe them?

"Your right," he said, "Sorry, guess I just panicked. I do that sometimes."

"Yeah, but that's what makes you adorable," they laughed. The pair of them then made their way out of Beacon, still hand in hand. Jaune had a better feeling about today all of a sudden.

"By the way Jaune, your hair looks good."

 _Yes!_

* * *

 **Well, there's the first chapter done. As I said before, don't worry, chapters will be much longer than this. In this fic, Jaune will be meeting the families of many of the RWBY characters. What fun he will have. I don't really have an upload schedule when it comes to fics. All I can say is, you won't have to wait too long for each chapter. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here we go. The first pairing of Meet the Family is Jaune x Ruby. Also, just a heads up, I've taken a certain... liberty, with this chapter. You'll see what I mean when you read it. Otherwise, enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Lancaster**

* * *

Despite it's size, and being the home of Signal Academy, Jaune had never heard of the island of Patch before. He would admit, he was wasn't exactly well traveled - coming to Beacon was still currently his greatest adventure yet - and geography was never one of his strongest subjects. So when Ruby told him that that was where she lived, Jaune responded with a confused look.

Ruby was already excited enough that day, but practically talked his ear off on the boat ride up, as she went on and on about how it was such a lovely place, how beautiful the scenery was, how it had the best primary combat school ever, and, of course, how it was home to - what would be - the greatest huntress who ever lived.

To Jaune's credit, he had been trying to listen to every detail. Alas, Ruby only told him that she lived overseas on the day, so he hadn't had time to prepare in advance for his motion sickness. He filled the ocean with so much green on the way up, they'd probably have to name the area after him, just to serve as a warning to fishermen and sailors. Ruby didn't seem to mind his vomiting. She considered it something to expect, if one was to ever date him. Jaune didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not.

Eventually, after one stomach churning hour, they arrived at the island. Ruby was jumping up and down as they reached land, chanting on about "home sweet home" and phrases along those lines. Jaune weakley returned the enthusiasm, as he brushed the hell out of his teeth, and almost used a whole bottle of mouthwash to wash away the rancid odor. The toothbrush and the mouthwash had been given to him by the captain, who insisted that he needed them more than he did. Charming.

"Rubes, be honest with me, do I still smell bad?" Jaune nervously asked, causing Ruby to lightly pat him on the head.

"Don't worry, Vomit Boy," she said with her tongue sticking out. He had almost forgotten about that nickname, "Now you smell just like my uncle."

"Didn't you say he was an alcoholic?"

"Yeah, but at least you smell like family now." she said with a laugh, causing Jaune to look horrified. This only caused Ruby to laugh even harder. "I'm kidding, you smell fine. Wow, now I know why Yang enjoys teasing so much. The look on your face… priceless." she ended with a squeak.

"Very funny." he grumbled, causing Ruby to cling onto his arm, and activated her true weapon. The only weapon more valuable to her than Crescent Rose and had a much longer lasting effect.

The puppy dog eyes.

"C'mon Jaune, don't be mad at me. Please?" she pleaded as she gave that infamous look, knowing damn well the effect it had on him. Damn, she was getting crafty. Growing up with Yang probably did that to someone.

"Ok, fine, it's all good now. Just don't keep giving me that look." he begged. She rewarded his squirming with a kiss on the cheek which, even after all this time, still had the pair blushing and slightly looking away from each other.

They were often dubbed 'The cutest couple in Beacon' and for good reason. This was the first relationship any of them had been in, and they still had a hard time believing it was real. The only thing they knew for definite was real, was their feelings for each other. As such, they had an awkward way of showing affection to each other, causing observers to go "awww" at their cuteness- much to their dismay.

"Well...uh," Jaune began, "I guess we better get moving. Time's a wastin."

"Er- yeah. Right, right." Ruby stuttered, as they took each other by the hand and made their way down the path.

Ruby hadn't been kidding when she said Patch was beautiful. It was coming into Autumn now, and all the colours from the many trees in the area were simply breathtaking. At one point, they passed a cliffside that showed the lay of the land, that gave way to an abundance of nature. The afternoon sun was setting slightly, as it's light loomed over the hills, making the area below look like a blanket of orange and green.

"Wow." That was all he could say.

"I know, right? I never get tired of looking out from here." she said. Jaune couldn't blame her. It really was like something out of a picture. But, Jaune knew that appearances could be deceiving.

"With so much woodland, don't you ever get attacked by Grimm?" he asked.

"Pfft, they're just Beowolves, nothing me and my family can't handle." she said with a smile, "and besides, they usually stay far away from us. Why? Worried you'll have to come save me?" she said with a small smirk. Jaune didn't see the funny side, however.

"Well, yeah, if I feel like you're ever in danger." he said firmly, as he looked right into her eyes, "Ruby, you know that there is no way I'm letting anything hurt you." Ruby's face broke into a wide smile, as she hugged him tight, burying her face into his stomach.

"You're the best." she whispered softly. There was no awkwardness this time, as Jaune held her tighter, the pair remaining quiet for a while. Ruby broke off first as she remembered her original mission, and grabbed him by the hand once more. She had more of a skip in her step than what she did earlier.

After a while, they reached her home, which looked to be a large log cabin. All the lights were on and a lot of noise could be heard from inside.

"Welp, here we are," Ruby said proudly, "I think I should be the one to ring the doorbell." Jaune nodded as they approached the building's front door. Ruby rung the bell once, and they patiently waited. Soon after, a woman answered the door. She wore a long white hood, and looked strikingly similar to Ruby. She had the same eyes, face shape, she even had the same hair style. All that was different was that this woman was much taller than her. Otherwise, they could've been mistaken for the same person.

"Hey Rubes, why didn't you say you had an older twin sister?" Jaune asked.

"Older what? What are you-" she began, before looking at him wide eyed and in shock. Jaune gave her a confused look, which caused the woman at the door to start laughing her head off.

"Oh Ruby, I like him already."

[/]

Summer Rose took too much enjoyment in watching Jaune stumble his way through an apology to both her, and Ruby. At least, that's what he thought anyway. He really didn't think he needed to apologise to Summer, as he thought that ninety percent of women would've taken it as a compliment. And judging from the look on her face, she clearly did. In truth, he was only really apologising to her, simply from the mortified look Ruby was giving him. He quickly gave her one too afterwards.

Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby's father, later came out after hearing the noise in the hallway. Jaune quickly asked Ruby to confirm that this was indeed her father, to which Ruby gave him a silent but serious nod. Jeez, Jaune felt it might be his own girlfriend in the end who would throw him out. At least it wouldn't be her father, who simply smiled and shook his hand.

"Everyone just calls me Tai," he said as he introduced himself, "And you must be Jaune Arc, yes?"

"Yes sir" Jaune said, causing the man to laugh.

"Oh please, just call me Tai. We're not that formal 'round here." he said with a wink. This helped relax Jaune a bit. Ruby's home seemed pretty easy going all things considered. This would probably be easier than he thought.

"Is that sis and Vomit Boy?" the voice of Yang called out from the kitchen. She had gotten to the house before they did, wanting to "give the lovebirds some space". Though, deep down, Jaune thought she just didn't want to deal with his motion sickness on the boat ride up too.

"We'll be with you in a moment, dear," Summer called back and then turned back to the young couple, "You two got here just in time. When you arrived, we had just got done serving dinner. It's all ready for you now."

"Awesome," Ruby cried out, finally finding the will to speak again, "You're gonna love this, Jaune. Mum's cooking is the best, no question. This'll be the best meal you've ever had."

"Actually," Summer giggled, "I left your dad in charge of making dinner this time." Ruby's face dropped.

"Well geez, you don't have to look so happy about it," Taiyang said whilst rolling his eyes, "Ignore her, Jaune. My cooking is just as good, you'll see."

"Dad, you cook things even Zwei won't eat."

"Well… guess I can't argue with that." he said glumly. Jaune looked a little worried, but managed to voice his anticipation for the upcoming dinner.

"I'm sure it'll be great si-, Tai."

"See? I knew there was someone who believed in me," he said proudly, "Though, now that you've said that, I feel really bad. Yours was the one I poisoned on purpose."

"Dad!" Ruby cried as she stood in front of Jaune, holding her arms out defensively.

"Don't worry," Taiyang laughed, "Now that I know what you're like, I'll swap your one out for Qrow's."

"Hehe, thanks." Jaune giggled led the way to the kitchen, where Yang and a dark haired man with red eyes waited for them all.

"I believe you're already friends with our daughter, Yang," Tai said, Yang greeting them with a lazy wave, "But the man over there is Ruby and Yang's uncle, Qrow." Jaune said hello to the man, only for him to sniff dismissively in return. Yang gave the young couple a cheeky grin as they sat down, one that they were both very familiar with.

"Well, would you look at that?" said Yang cheerfully, "The love birds have arrived."

"Really, Yang? Do you have to do that now?" Ruby whined, causing her older sister to laugh.

Back when they had announced their relationship, Yang had been ecstatic. She couldn't believe that her little sister had finally taken an interest in boys, let alone Jaune of all people. However, that didn't stop her from meeting Jaune privately, so that she could give him the talk that every protective older sibling gave to the new girlfriend/boyfriend. It didn't have to last long though, as she knew Jaune would never do anything to hurt Ruby. Not because he feared Yang - although he did - but because he genuinely cared for Ruby.

That being said though, one thing that she never stopped, was her endless teasing of the pair. Every Time they were caught doing something romantic in public, no matter how small it might be, she made a big fuss over it. She would constantly make kissy faces, followed by the occasional lovey-dovey comment. Jaune only hoped her mother would be better-

"So, tell me the truth," Summer said as they sat down, "how did you two get together. I want to hear all about it."

"Summer, please, let them sit down first. They can explain later."

"Oooh, I can't help it Tai," Summer whined, "Just look how cute they look together. I don't think I've ever seen such a sweeter pair. In fact, don't they kinda remind you of us. They even look like us when we were younger. "

Ok, maybe she was just as bad as Yang, if not slightly worse. Ruby seemed to agree as she stared down at her food, her face glowing like a tomato. Yang snickered at the whole affair, whilst the dark haired man remained silent.

"I admit, they do kinda look like us in our Beacon years," said Taiyang, not helping with Ruby's blush at all, "But still, we shouldn't embarrass 'em. They'll tell us when they're ready."

"Alright then," Summer sighed, "Sorry if I embarrassed you, Jaune. I'm just so excited to see my little rose finally grow."

"Muuum," Ruby whined, "you're embarrassing _me_."

"It's fine, Summer." Jaune said, despite how he was feeling much the same as Ruby. He didn't know how to ask her to stop without sounding rude though.

 _Gotta keep 'em happy, Jaune,_ he told himself, _It doesn't matter how nice they seem. One wrong move and you could be screwed._

"I'll tell you what," Taiyang said, seeing the embarrassment on the both of their faces, "Why don't we ask Jaune to tell us about himself? How about that, Summer?"

"Oh yes, please do, Jaune," said Summer excitedly, "I'm dying to hear all about my daughter's first love."

"Muuum, do you have to word it like _that_?"

"What would you like to know?" asked Jaune.

"Anything really," said Summer, "Your dreams, hobbies, aspirations. Anything."

"Well, I guess my main dream is to become a huntsman, like everyone else in Beacon."

"Y'know, I almost forgot you're also at Beacon," said Tai, "Which school did you attend before going?"

Uh-oh.

Jaune hadn't planned an answer for that question; mostly because he had never been asked it before. On the outside, he maintained a calm demeanor, despite how his mind was going into overdrive, as it desperately tried to make up a believable answer. It was hard work - he couldn't even name any other combat school.

Wait, yes he could!

"I studied at Signal Academy before attending Beacon." He said the words before he could think them. He felt pretty proud of himself, until he saw Ruby and Yang give him a look of panic. What, had he said something wrong?

"Signal?" said Summer, "What a coincidence, that's where Ruby and Yang went as kids."

"Yeah, I was never in the same class as Yang, and me and Ruby weren't even in the same year at the time, so I never really spoke to them back then." Jaune said feeling confident. He didn't like lying to Ruby's parents, but it was necessary for the question asked. Besides, did they have to keep looking at him like that? He was doing great; he was lying like a rug right now. Why did they look so worried?

"That's weird," said Taiyang, "Qrow and myself teach there, but I don't remember seeing your name on the registry."

Registry? Teachers? Ruby's Dad and Uncle were teachers there?

Oh god, no wonder they were looking at him like that. Jaune wanted to kick himself for not planning ahead. Still, maybe he could work his way around this. Lying had helped him through most of his life, so why stop now?

"Well, my parents homeschooled me for a while, but then I joined in the final year. Maybe that's why you didn't see me."

"I guess," Taiyang said curiously, "Still, Signal's not that big a place. I should have seen you at some point. What about you, Qrow? You see him around before?"

"You know me, Tai," Qrow finally spoke, even if he slurred his words, "One snot nosed brat looks just like the other to me."

"Hey, I wasn't snot nosed!" whined Yang, though Qrow ignored her.

"Well I remember seeing him," Ruby said jumping to Jaune's defense, "He'd sometimes sit on his own though, to avoid acting clumsy in front of others." Ouch. Jaune admired Ruby for helping him, but did she have to paint his backstory like that? Still, he probably deserved it for coming up with such a horrendous lie.

"Hehe, yeah, that's right. Clumsy ol' Jaune, that was me." he laughed nervously.

"Well if you say so." Tai said, not really wanting to stretch the issue out any further. Silence filled the room for a while until Qrow finally broke it.

"So are we gonna keep probing this kid for info, or a we gonna eat this slop?"

 _Please pick 'eat the slop', please pick 'eat the slop'._

[/]

The dinner was delicious, Jaune would be the first to admit that. Everything was well cooked, and every bite left him wanting more. Jaune couldn't understand why Ruby had complained about her Dad's cooking before. If his cooking was considered mediocre in the household, Summer must have been a god in the kitchen.

Speaking of Summer…

"Now will you tell me how you got together?" she begged, "Please, I must know."

"Er- right," Jaune began, "Sure, I don't mind telling you. Though, I'm surprised you don't know yet."

"I thought about telling 'em," Yang smirked, "But that would've been less fun. Besides, I didn't want to rob you of your chance to shine."

Jaune then looked at Ruby, who looked at him sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head nervously.

"I… didn't really get a chance to do it," she admitted, "Once I told mum that I even had a boyfriend she just went crazy."

"I was completely justified." Summer pouted. Ruby ignored her and carried on talking.

"As for Dad, well I thought he'd try to hunt you down if I told him about you, so I didn't tell him until much later."

"Please," Taiyang scoffed, "I'd be a hypocrite if I did something like that. Especially considering my dating spree when I was a kid. Sure, I was surprised, but hardly annoyed."

"That makes one of us," Qrow slurred out as he pointed to Jaune, "This one's trouble, kiddo. I can feel it."

"Uncle Qrooow" Ruby whined, "Jaune isn't trouble at all."

"You say that now, kid. But you know how I know he's devious? You just gotta look at him!" he said as he pointed all over Jaune's face. "He's blond and has blue eyes. That's all the proof I need."

"Hey!" said Taiyang, "I'm blond, and my eyes are blue too. What are you trying to say?"

"Don't act innocent with me, Tai." Qrow said, "I know full well of your 'conquests'. First you claim my sister, then you move on to our dear team leader? Your a Beowolf in sheep's clothing." Tai didn't know how to respond to that. He then looked back to Ruby. "You just wait, kid. Give him a week and he'll probably move on to Yang next." Yang rolled her eyes at the thought, but Jaune didn't take what he said lightly.

"I would never do that!" Jaune snapped, startling a few at the table. Everyone was looking at him now, causing him to sigh. "I'm sorry for my outburst, but it's true. I would never do that to Ruby. I care too much for her for me to do that." He then looked to see Ruby holding his hand and looking up at him.

"I know you do, Jaune," she said and then turned to Qrow, "Uncle Qrow, please don't speak to Jaune like that. I promise you, I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend." Summer actually squealed with delight at that, but Ruby ignored her. "Maybe if you take the time to know him, you'll see how great he is."

Qrow dismissed the idea with a burp and a head shake. "You say that now. But mark my words, you'll eat your words, and then your words won't words well with words in your… words…" the man then rambled off as his head began to droop.

Yang squinted at him. "Er, Uncle Qrow… how much did you drink before dinner?"

"Not much," sniffed Qrow, "Just a few bottles of your Mother's wine. Let me tell you, she got good taste" he said as he tipped his glass the woman in question. Summer looked appalled at what he said.

"Is that what you've been drinking this whole time? Qrow, you know I've been saving that for special occasions only!" Summer complained.

"Well this is a special occasion, isn't it?" Qrow said, "We're welcoming new blood into the family. Besides, when I heard Tai was cooking I thought it would help sweeten the dish."

"Moving on," Tai said, ignoring Qrow's comment on his cooking, "Let's let Jaune tell his story, shall we?"

"Sure," Jaune said, " Unless, Ruby, do you want to?" Ruby squirmed and shook her head quickly.

"Nah, you do it. I suck at telling stories."

"Alright then," Jaune began as Summer and Tai leaned in to listen closely. Qrow, on the other hand, seemed to be quite content with the company his wine glass offered. "It all started when our teams went to the arcade in Vale together. Ruby begged me to win her a prize at one of the claw games, as she had wasted all her money on it."

"I'm telling you, those games are rigged." Ruby pouted.

"Please," Yang laughed, "That's whatI told you. You didn't listen though."

"Anyway, so I ended up winning Ruby what she wanted on the final attempt. When I gave it to her, she, uh… well, she kissed me." Jaune's face turned slightly red at the memory, as did Ruby's.

"Yeah, I got a little lost in the moment." Ruby said awkwardly.

"After that day, we could barely make eye contact with one another. We didn't know how to feel after that."

"That's when I stepped in!" Yang said, "I encouraged Ruby to start speaking to poor Jauney again, just so they could finally stop feeling awkward around each other. I only said it so that they could go back to being friends, though. I never expected her to straight up ask him out."

"Well, you did say to be honest with myself when talking to him." Ruby pointed out.

"By that, I meant explain why you kissed him, not… well never mind, it worked out, I suppose."

"That's pretty much the gist of it," said Jaune, "Three months later, here we are." He then sat back as he awaited the responses from the grown ups. Well, Summer and Tai at the very least.

"That's a pretty neat story, kids," said Tai, "Yeah, the arcade is typical for-"

"Oh my gosh!" Summer squeed as she began to hyperventilate over the pair of them, "That's so cute! You two are like something out of a romance novel, I swear. The dashing knight saving the damsel in distress in her time of need, until they stare into each others eyes and find out that they are so in lo-"

 _*Burp*_

By a twist of fate, it seemed like Qrow would be the one coming to the their rescue. Ruby looked more than relieved to see her mother finally calm down, after Qrow ended Summer's fantasy of the two. Jaune made a mental note to buy him some booze as thanks.

"Way to kill the mood, Qrow," Summer grumbled.

"It was a mercy killing," Qrow said as he got out of his chair, "Thanks for the dinner, Tai. I guess I'll be going now."

"W-wait," said Tai, "aren't you gonna say goodbye to Jaune?"

"No point. I'll be seeing him around soon enough." Qrow said, shooting a glare back at Jaune before exiting the house. Jaune slumped in his seat, until he felt Ruby patting his hand excitedly.

"Oooh, I think he approves of you." she cheered.

"Ruby… it sounded like he wanted to kill me."

"Pfft, nah," Ruby said dismissively, "He only meets up with people he takes a liking too. Just wait, soon you'll be the best of friends."

"Keep telling yourself that, Rubes." muttered Yang.

"Well, regardless of what that dust old crow thinks," said Taiyang, "I think it's been a pleasure meeting you Jaune. You and Ruby seem to be a good match."

"Couldn't agree more," beamed Summer, "It's good to see our little Ruby together with such a fine young man."

Jaune didn't know how to handle such praise. He could only laugh it off, followed by an occasional thank you whilst Ruby muttered something about not being little. Hearing Summer and Taiyang's approval of him made him feel on top of the world. Ruby really had such an awesome family, with Qrow being a bridge he would have to cross later.

The rest of the evening was a cakewalk for him. He was in such high spirits after that talk, and didn't have any worry left in his body. Over dessert, the rest of them made exchanged stories about each of their family's history, as well as some embarrassing stories of Yang and Ruby, much to their shame. Jaune made it up to them by sharing a few of his own. God knows, he had more than enough about him. The evening carried on with laughter, jokes and the occasional jeer from Yang telling Jaune and Ruby to kiss.

It was perfect.

[/]

Jaune made his goodbyes at the end; a handshake from Taiyang, a surprisingly strong hug from Summer, and a slap on the back from Yang telling him she'll see him around. Ruby walked out with him to the front door, so that the two could have some privacy.

"Sooo?" said Ruby excitedly.

"Well aside from your scary uncle," Jaune said, "You were right. That went brilliantly."

"Told you," Ruby said as she poked him in the chest, "And don't worry about Qrow. He'll come around, I'm sure."

"For my sake, I hope so." said Jaune. The two then stared at each other for a while, neither of them breaking eye contact. "I had a great time tonight Ruby."

"Same." said Ruby softly, before, ever so slowly, they both started to lean in closer. Neither really knew how to start initiating kisses, but that didn't stop them from doing so. Eventually, their lips met and they closed their eyes. Ruby looped her arms around his neck as he held her close, leaning down slightly to make up for the height difference. Jaunce could care less if he missed his boat or not, as he enjoyed the perfect end to a perfect day.

Unbeknownst to them, two people were upstairs looking down on them from a window. One with a scroll in her hand, the other trying to ward her off.

"C'mon Tai, just one picture?"

"Leave them be, Summer"

"But it's so cute!"

"Let 'em have their privacy."

"I'll bake some cookies if you let me take one."

"..."

"..."

"... Just one, alright?"

"As you say," Summer winked and snapped a photo, sighing in happiness at the sight of her daughter and her first boyfriend.

She hoped they would be together for a long time.

* * *

 **And there we. Of all the pairings in the RWBYverse, this one is definitely one of my favourites. Hopefully I did it some justice. But yeah, I brought Summer back from the grave, just to make it a bit easier to write. You'll find I'll be doing that with a few parents in this fic. Finally, as a side note, I imagine Summer being voiced by Cassandra Lee Morris. I imagine her sounding almost exactly like Elphelt Valentine from Guilty Gear xD**

 **Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Time for an update. Today, the ship is Jaune x Weiss.**

 **Just a heads up, I've decided not really bothering with a word count anymore. Chapters will be as long as I see fit. A word count can be useful for some stories, but in most cases, I find they restrict me a little bit. Trying to put a word count on this reminded me of writing an essay...**

 **I don't like writing essays...**

 **Anyway, please enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: White Knight**

* * *

"Um, Weiss? Why are there two bullheads waiting for us?"

"They're to take us to Atlas, of course. Flying is the most efficient form transport, after all."

"Yeah, I know that. But why are there _two_?"

"Because there is no way, in all of Remnant, that I'm flying on the same bullhead as you. I know exactly what your like on moving vehicles, you dunce."

Ouch. Jabs at his motion sickness always stung.

To be fair, he couldn't really blame Weiss for her decision. Everyone in Beacon knew about his… condition. Needless to say, Beacon had invested a lot of money from its budget into buying paper bags for him, so that he could use them whenever teams were forced to travel by air.

They always needed more bags…

"Which one's mine?" asked Jaune. Weiss pointed to the bullhead on the right. The floor of it was covered in tarpaulin, and the pilot was wearing a gasmask.

Huh, seemed like everyone had planned in advance for his inevitable spewing.

"Lucky for you," Weiss said. "the journey shouldn't be that long- an hour and a half, at most. You shouldn't be too bad during that time."

"You underestimate me, Snow Angel." Jaune chuckled as Weiss poked him in the chest.

"I don't care how long we've been dating for, that nickname will never be charming." she said. The poke was playful, but the words were serious. Even if Jaune had won Weiss over, she still despised that name. These days, he only ever said it to tease her.

He and Weiss were together…

He still couldn't believe it. It still felt like yesterday that he was constantly getting rejected by her. It was only after he stopped pestering her with his flirts, that she started to speak on friendly terms with him.

And then came the day of the dance, where he had helped Neptune muster up the courage to dance with Weiss. She had heard about what he did for her, and was incredibly grateful for it. To show her gratitude, she agreed to go on one date with him.

Despite Weiss emphasizing that it would only be _one_ date, Jaune was over the moon over the news. He had pinched himself several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and then asked his partner to do it too- although she had pinched him harder for whatever reason.

He went above and beyond organising the date; booking the fanciest restaurant in Vale, buying fancy clothes, working on his way of talking. He begged Ruby for advice on her partner - about her likes and dislikes - to which Ruby was happy to provide. She was happy to see Weiss give Jaune a chance.

During the date, Jaune had done everything he could to act as gentlemanly as possible. He had kept his flirting to a minimum, and had even paid for the entire bill on his own, despite Weiss' protests. To his relief, Weiss said she had a wonderful night, though not for the reasons he was expecting.

Despite his generousness and his efforts to look more smartly dressed, Weiss had told him that what made it more enjoyable, was Jaune himself. When he wasn't flirting or putting on false bravado, Weiss found him to be a very pleasant and interesting person to talk to. Due to her upbringing, high end pleasantries did little to sway her. Good company is what she sought in someone.

She then agreed to go on another date with him, then another, and another, until it became a regular thing for the two to do. It eventually got to the point, where Nora asked them if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Unsure of what to say, Weiss said she supposed it did.

Jaune had required several more pinching that day.

And now, after three months, Weiss thought it necessary for him to finally meet her family. To say he was nervous would be an understatement; he was genuinely scared.

Weiss was the heiress of the most powerful dust company in all of Remnant. If he was supposed to impress a family like hers, he somehow had to make them believe he was on their level. How the hell was he supposed to do that though? He was just your average, awkward, run-of-the-mill kind of-

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Jaune snapped out of his panic by the stern voice of Weiss.

"Sorry, I zoned out for a minute, what were you saying?"

"Ugh, typical. I was saying that we should start boarding. I don't want to keep them waiting any longer."

"Right, of course. Sorry, we'll get going now."

He made his way to his bullhead, when suddenly, he was stopped by Weiss, who put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you're nervous," she said softly. "But trust me, you'll be fine."

"I know that," Jaune sighed. "It's just… you gotta understand Weiss, your family is kinda a big deal."

"You'll probably think otherwise after today," Weiss lightly chuckled. "Listen, don't try to change yourself for them; especially not my father. I'm interested in who _you_ are," she emphasized with another poke to his chest. "Not who they want you to be."

Jaune nodded but then looked down at the ground. "I just don't want to let you down." he mumbled.

He then felt Weiss put her hands on his cheeks, and brought him down so she could kiss his forehead.

"It's not you I'm worried about disappointing me," she said. "now then, quit groveling and get in the bullhead. The only way you'll let me down, is if you turn back now."

"Yes ma'am," Jaune said with a wink. Weiss rolled her eyes and made her way to her own bullhead. Once ready, the two of them flew off to Atlas. Weiss' bullhead lead the way, whilst his followed a few paces behind.

"If you're feeling ill, let me know," his pilot called back to him. "I can fly slower if you want."

"I'm okay," he weakly called back. He was feeling a bit queasy actually, but it was from nerves rather than motion sickness. Although, that wasn't helping either. In the meantime, Jaune just gritted his teeth and tried to enjoy the ride.

He'd be damned, if he let an upset stomach ruin his chances with the girl of his dreams!

[/]

Cold!

That was the first thing that came to his head. I mean, he knew Atlas would be cold, but this was C-O-L-D! The winter coat he had worn, was doing little to help him. Since landing, Jaune, for the first time in his life, wished he was still on the bullhead. Through all the pain and the undulating, he didn't realise how warm that thing was. The pilot seemed to know this too, as he remained in his seat.

Weiss then stepped out of her bullhead, completely unfazed by the weather, as she made her way towards him.

 _How is she not freezing!?_ Jaune thought as he shivered on the spot. He knew she was sometimes called 'Ice Queen' by her teammates as a joke, but now he was starting to think there was more truth to that name than they realised.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Weiss asked sternly.

"You know I didn't actually throw up this time, right?" he said. His pilot overheard him, and gave him a thumbs up in approval.

"Irrelevant. Brush them anyway, just to be safe."

He knew there was no point arguing, and rushed behind the bullhead to give his mouth a good clean. Once done, Weiss gave him an approving nod, and the pair made their way to the Schnee mansion.

The place was built like a palace; located atop a hill looking down over the city, with a view of the mountains behind it. They had landed in a landing zone about five minutes away from the place, and with every step taken, Jaune found his head looking up to see all of the building. It was bigger than any house he had ever seen. It was pure white, and looked like it could fit the entire population of Atlas inside it.

 _No wonder Weiss acted like royalty before,_ he thought. Anyone would, coming from a place like this.

The pair made their way to the huge front doors, and Weiss was about to ring the doorbell, when her hand faltered slightly.

"Weiss, what's wrong?"

"I just feel like I should apologise beforehand," she said. "You'll find my family can be rather… interesting." she said the words like she was embarrassed by them, "So if they say anything that might offend you, then I'm sorry on their behalf."

Jaune gripped her hand tightly. He found her to be very warm, despite the weather.

"You don't have to worry about me, Weiss," he said. "Besides, today is about me making _you_ look good. So c'mon, ring the bell. It's freezing out here anyway."

"All I'm saying is, you aren't the only worried about today," she said quietly, and rang the bell. A thundering ringing noise echoed all around them, as they waited for the door to be answered.

After a few seconds of waiting, the door was opened by a short man in a suit. He was even shorter than Weiss, if such a thing were possible. He had a bald head, a large mustache, and a very friendly smile as he answered the door.

"Ah, Miss Schnee, it is a pleasure to see you again," he greeted in a well spoken voice. "And what do we have here?" he said as he turned to Jaune, "You must be the young man she spoke of. A pleasure to finally meet you."

"Jaune, this is my butler, Klein Sieben," Weiss said as she introduced the two. "Klein, meet Jaune Arc, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Sieben," Jaune said as he shook the man's hand.

"Oh, there's no need for such formalities with me," Klein chuckled. "Just call me Klein, sir."

"Alright then." Jaune said. Wow, no one had ever called him 'sir' before. Not even the librarians at Beacon. He liked Klein already.

"If you would like, I can alert your family of your arrival." said Klein.

"That won't be necessary," said a stern, female voice. "I've already done so. I did it as soon as I saw those bullheads arrive"

Coming down the grand staircase in the foyer, Jaune saw a tall women in an Atlas military uniform, make her way towards the entrance. She had silver white hair done up in a bun, light blue eyes, and had a serious expression on her face.

"Winter," Weiss gasped.

"Nice to see you too, Weiss," said Winter with a small smile. "You seem rather surprised."

"Forgive me," she said as she regained her composure. "This is just unexpected. I thought you were away on service."

"I was," said Winter. "But I took a leave of absence for today." She then turned to Jaune, the smile gone from her face, "This now gives me the chance to meet him."

"I see," said Weiss nervously. She turned to Jaune to introduce him to Winter, but was very surprised to see him meeting Winter's gaze head on.

Most people probably would have crumbled underneath the glare that Winter was giving him, but he was staring back with a polite smile on his face. To be fair, if Winter had been anyone else, Jaune would have done the same. Except Winter wasn't just any type of person- she was a sister. An older, protective sister.

He knew exactly how to handle those.

"Nice to finally meet you, Winter," he said politely as he made to shake her hand. "My name's Jaune Arc."

"Yes, I know who you are," she said coolly as she returned his gesture. "Believe me, I already know quite a bit about you."

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," he chuckled, "Weiss probably mentioned me from time to time."

"Indeed she did," she said. "She spoke of you a lot in the letters she wrote to me. I learnt some rather interesting things." Her grip on his hand tightened when she said that. "Like how you harassed her to date you."

"Winter!" Weiss gasped in fear, "Winter please, I wrote those letters a long time ago. Jaune is a changed man now!"

"Is he really?" Winter said as she looked towards Weiss. "Are you telling me the truth, Weiss? He cannot harm you here. If you like, I can send him packing now-"

"Whatever Weiss wrote was true," Jaune said calmly, still undeterred by Winter. "In the beginning, I was a nuisance to Weiss, I realise that now. But what she's saying now is also true. I have matured a great deal since dating Weiss, and I am not the person I once was."

"Talk is cheap, Mr Arc," Winter said, still looking unimpressed. "If you really claim to have changed, you'll have to prove it to me. Only then will I consider you a suitable partner for my sister."

"Of course," Jaune agreed. "I promise, I will not disappoint you."

The two said nothing for a while, until Winter broke her gaze with him and turned to Weiss. She smiled as soon as she looked at her sister. Weiss was still looking a little nervous after the previous conversation that just happened.

"Dinner will be ready shortly," she said. "Though if you prefer, I can tell the chef to delay it whilst you settle in."

"Er, yes, that would be helpful," Weiss stuttered. "I was hoping to give Jaune a brief tour of the house."

"Very well." Winter said. She then made her leave, but not before giving Jaune one final little glare. Again, he didn't flinch when she did so. Soon, there was only the three of them left.

"She seems nice." Jaune said happily. Weiss just stared at him in utter shock. "What?"

"How did you handle that so well?" she sputtered. "I thought for sure you would break down."

"Seven sisters, remember?" Jaune laughed. "Trust me, if there's one thing I know, it's how to talk to them. Talking to Winter felt no different than talking to one of my own."

"Is that so?" Weiss stared at him with an approving smile. "You know, you should act confident more often. It looks good on you."

That made him look sheepish again, as he sighed and looked away.

"I wouldn't get used to it. I still have no idea how I'm gonna impress the rest of your family."

"Well if you plan to speak like before, then you'll have nothing to worry about."

"If I might suggest," began Klein who, until now, had been silent and stood against a wall. "Perhaps a walk may ease your mind? Miss Schnee did say she wanted to give you a tour, after all."

"Yeah, sounds good," Jaune said. "I could use some time to stretch my legs."

"Agreed," Weiss said. "Klein, please lead the way. I've been away for so long, I might just end up getting us lost."

"But of course, Miss Schnee," Klein said with a bow. "Please follow me, Mr Arc. I'm sure in time you'll grow to love these walls."

 _There's certainly a lot of them to love_ , Jaune thought as they began walking, still stunned by how large the building was. The foyer itself was enough to leave him spellbound; it seemed every bit of the house would look as pristine as it did on the outside.

About half an hour had passed, and Jaune knew he still hadn't seen the whole building. Every hallway seemed to open up to a hundred different rooms. Why anyone would need such space, he didn't know. Perhaps it was just a rich person thing, like owning a King Taijitu statue for no other reason that to look imposing.

Klein handled most of the talking, tough Weiss did chip in every know and then. Specifically about the music room, the armoury and the training grounds. They were currently in the library, admiring the many books on display. Klein claimed that it was home to more books than any bookshop in Atlas combined.

"Not that my father reads any of them," Weiss scoffed. "He just likes to pretend he's well read."

Jaune looked troubled at the comment, catching Weiss' attention. During the time they had been dating, Jaune had noticed that Weiss had yet to say a single good thing about her father. This bothered him more than he realised.

"Something wrong, Jaune?"

"You don't seem to like your dad all that much, do you?" he said.

Weiss sighed irritably. "He's a difficult man. He can be incredibly arrogant, and acts like he's entitled to everything, even though he only married his way into the family name."

"Miss Schnee." Klein said sadly.

"He's not here right now, Klein," Weiss grumbled. "I'm allowed to speak my mind. He's one of the main reasons I attended Beacon- so that I could get away from him."

"And I take it, he'll be here for dinner?" Jaune asked.

"Naturally," Weiss said, "As well as Winter, and my younger brother, Whitley. My mother might be there, although I doubt it. She hardly ever leaves the wine cellar."

Oh dear, a controlling father and an alcoholic mother. This family sounded stable.

Still, Winter and Weiss turned out fine. He hadn't met Whitley yet, but hopefully he followed in his sibling's' footsteps.

"Speaking of mother, could you stop her from appearing at dinner today, Klein?" Weiss asked, much to Jaune's shock. Was her mother really that much of an embarrassment?

"I suppose it's for the best," Klein sighed, "I have nothing but respect for Madame Schnee, but she can be rather… incorrigible, to say the least."

None of this felt right to Jaune. Families were supposed to care for eachother, not be at eachothers throats like this. Nothing like this ever happened in the Arc family household. They had arguments sure, but they would never despise one another. Were all rich and powerful families like this? Jaune considered himself blessed to have a more similar upbringing.

A buzzing noise came from somewhere. Klein reacted first, by pulling a scroll out of his pocket and answering it. After a brief conversation, he addressed the young couple again.

"That was your father, Miss Schnee. He requests you at the dining hall immediately."

"Very well," Weiss sighed. "I didn't expect to have time to finish the tour anyway." She then took Jaune by the hand. "It's time you met the rest of my family, Jaune."

"Can hardly wait," he responded with a weak smile.

"Just remember to speak confidently. My father's a businessman, he admires boldness."

"I thought I didn't have to worry about impressing him?"

"You don't," she said,as she then kissed him on the cheek. "But it'll impress me if you do."

"Then I'll give it my best shot," he said. "I'll tell you what though. If you came round mine, all you'd have to do is smile, and my family would love you."

"Simple expectations from a simple family," Weiss smirked, ignoring Jaune's protests. On that note, Klein led the two of them to the dining hall, where the rest of the Schnee family awaited.

[/]

The dining table stretched halfway across the massive room, with a roaring fireplace next to it. A glass chandelier hung overhead, and the table itself had the Schnee emblem decorated on it. Above the fireplace, was a portrait of a proud looking man, with swept back white hair and a moustache.

Said man was also sitting at the far end of the table, looking his way at the three people entering the room. From the neutral expression on his face, it was hard to tell what he was thinking. His icy blue eyes followed Jaune and Weiss' every move, as they made their way to the table. Joining him at the table was Winter, and a young boy with white hair and smart clothes, who Jaune could only assume was Whitley.

"Mr Arc, may I present Jacques Schnee," Klein announced. "President of the SDC and master of the house."

From the way he was introduced, Jaune wasn't sure if he was meant to bow to the man. Deciding to play it safe, he approached the man and made to shake his hand. Jacques rose from his chair, upon seeing Jaune approach him.

"It's nice to meet you, sir" Jaune said, praying that he wouldn't stutter. It felt like everyone in the room was looking at him.

"The pleasure is mine, young man," Jacques said in a tone that made Jaune feel uncomfortable. It felt condescending and a little sinister- as if he knew something that Jaune didn't. "I hope your trip went smoothly. How are you finding our home?"

"It's impressive. Like, really impressive," Jaune said.

He heard a small scoff, which sounded like it came from Weiss' little brother. It was hard to know, as he was currently looking at one of the most powerful men in all Remnant.

"It's certainly fancier than anything I could afford."

"My dear boy, you flatter us," Jacques said, "But, yes, I suppose to an outsider, it does look rather grand." He then turned his gaze towards Weiss. "Sweetheart, we've been waiting quite awhile for you to join us. The least you can do is say hello."

Weiss' eye seemed to twitch at that, but only for a second. "Apologies for the delay, father. I was simply showing Jaune around the house." she said with a small curtsy.

Maybe he should have bowed after all.

"Apology accepted," Jacques sniffed. "But next time, do show up on time. Whilst you were busy getting lost, our food could have gotten cold."

Again, Weiss' eye twitched again.

"I did not get us lost, father."

"No doubt because of Klein, I'm sure." Jacques said casually. "Speaking of, Klein, inform the chefs to start serving our food now." Kelin bowed and headed for the kitchen. "You two may want to sit down."

Weiss made her way round to Winter's side of the table, and sat next to her. Jaune made to sit opposite her, when he was stopped by Jacques placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Actually, Mr Arc, you will be sitting here for today." Jacques then gestured to an empty seat beside his seat at end of the table and Whitley's. Weiss looked ready to speak up in protest, but was silenced by Winter, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Um, sure, if that's what you want, sir," Jaune said, unsure of what to say.

"Wonderful," said Jacques in the same tone as before. Jaune looked at Weiss, who was looking at him with a sympathetic gaze. Even Winter looked slightly uncomfortable at Jaune's position. Trying to create conversation, he looked at Whitley to his right, who was currently looking bored.

"You're the only one I haven't met yet," said Jaune as he stuck his hand out, "My name's Jaune. Though, I guess you know that already." he finished with a chuckle. "Your names Whitley, right?"

The boy stared at Jaune's hand for a moment, then accepted it with a smirk.

"That's correct, Mr Arc." he said in a polite, yet snarky tone.

"You can call me Jaune, if you want" Jaune offered nicely.

"I know I can," Whitley smirked back.

This caused Jaune to be wary; this kid seemed like he'd might be trouble. Judging from his tone, he knew how much power he had and was happy to flaunt it. Still, this was Weiss' brother, so it was probably best to stay on his goodside.

"I must say Mr Arc, I really must thank you."

"Thank me?" Jaune said surprised. "Thank me for what?"

"Until now, Weiss was the dullest person I knew," Whitley said. "It's nice to finally see her in good spirits- even if it was all thanks to a commoner."

"Whitley!" Winter snapped. "Show some manners. Jaune is our guest."

Ah, so Winter did have something nice to say about him. He knew there was a reason he liked her.

"Apologies, sister," Whitley sighed in disinterest. "It's been so dull without you and Weiss for company, I find myself speaking without thinking. I had no intention of belittling Mr Arc's… humble background."

"It's no problem," Jaune said, "I'll uh, try to be an interesting guest."

"Oh, I'm sure you will, my boy," said Jacques. "I'm rather looking forward to learning more about you." The small smile he had when he said that, definitely had Jaune on edge. It felt like the kind of smile a snake would give to a rabbit. Jaune felt like he would have to choose his words carefully, when speaking to him.

Suddenly, several chefs emerged carrying food to the table. "But until then, let us enjoy our dinner. I've certainly worked up quite the appetite." Jacques said.

The food did look tasty, Jaune agreed on that. Several dishes were placed in the centre of the table, filled with various meat, vegetables as well as some fish. All of it was incredibly well made and each bit of food probably cost a fortune. Jaune imagined they all had fancy names that he'd never be able to pronounce.

"You'll enjoy this, Jaune," said Weiss excitedly. "These dishes are hard to come by in Vale."

"More so with what you're able to afford," Whitley mumbled.

"Whitley," Weiss growled.

"I'm Joking," Whitley smirked. "He knows I am. Isn't that right, Mr Arc?" He looked up at Jaune when he said that- a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Oh, this kid was a brat alright. He knew he could get away with what he was doing, so he kept on doing it. Jaune knew he had to remain polite though, lest he risk irritating Jacques, who seemed to be in no rush stopping his son. So, he simply laughed and confirmed Whitley's suspicions.

"See Weiss? It's all in good fun." Whitley smiled.

"Well stop calling him Mr Arc," Weiss snapped. "You know his name is Jaune, so call him _Jaune_!"

"Weiss I really don't mind," said Jaune meekly.

"Enough of this squabbling," Jacques barked. "I'll have no petty arguments at my table!"

Weiss glared at Whitley, who was still smirking, but sighed and then returned to her meal.

The dinner was delicious. Everything had such a rich flavour to it, that Jaune doubted he would taste anything like it at some common restaurant. He would have wanted to learn the recipe, although he didn't think he could afford the ingredients.

He would have wolfed it down, if he hadn't seen everyone else eating slowly and delicately. Table manners were one thing, but did everyone have to eat like it was an artform to do so? He was not a slow eater at all, but he made the effort for Weiss.

It was only after half an hour, did he realise why everyone was slowing down. What he had just eaten was only the starter. The main course was served, and was much bigger than the previous meal. How did they all keep their figures so slim?

An hour had passed since they sat down. Everyone ate in complete silence, which was a little intimidating to Jaune, but conversations soon started again once everyone had finished.

"Your last name interests me, Jaune," Jacques said. "From what I hear, the Arc family come from a long line of warriors."

Jaune preened a little at the mention of his family. Even if he sometimes felt he couldn't live up to the name, his was very proud of his family history. He always tried to avoid sounding vain when talking about it, but he would never shy away from answering a question about them.

"It's true, sir," Jaune said proudly, "Almost all of our family members lead a life of combat. It's been this way for over a hundred years."

"I fought alongside your father once," Winter said in approval. "Solomon Arc is a brave huntsman. You should be proud."

"Oh, I am. But it's not just him. My sisters are just as strong- all seven of them. Even my mum, who's not even a fighter, can still pack a punch."

"Seven sisters!?" Winter nearly choked on her food. "I must say that's… quite a lot."

Jaune laughed slightly at her reaction. Everyone reacted pretty much the same way when being told that. He still remembered Weiss' face when he told her. She had demanded to to only visit his family, when only half of them were home. She said she it would help her feel safer.

"Yes, I've heard many great things about your family," Jacques continued. "Though I'm curious. When it came to talking about the children, I only ever heard about the success of your sisters." He stared at Jaune with leery eyes. "In fact, I didn't even know they had a brother until quite recently."

Jaune sighed. It wouldn't be the first time someone didn't hear of his existence, though that was no fault of his family. He just simply had no great stories to his name.

"I guess that makes sense," Jaune admitted. "I'm not the strongest in our family. But I'm training to get stronger. I want to be a huntsman, after all."

"You've come a long way, Jaune," Weiss said encouragingly. "Truly."

"Even still," Jacques said. "Isn't your youngest sister only fifteen, yet able to defeat hordes of Grimm by herself?"

Daisy? Yes, she was indeed. Jaune's youngest sibling had made quite a name for herself as a fierce huntress in training. She reminded him of Ruby a bit, only with slightly more confidence.

"She is," Jaune confirmed.

"I see," Jacques murmured, "So young, yet already leagues ahead of her older brother."

"Father, what are you implying?" Weiss asked sternly.

"I'm merely making an observation," Jacques said. "It just seems odd that your skills aren't on par with theirs.

"With respect, sir, you've never seen me fight." Jaune said in an attempt to defend himself.

"No, but I have heard of your abilities," Jacques said. "Weiss may have mentioned them in her letters. She wasn't impressed, I must say."

"Those letters were for Winter!" Weiss gasped. "Father, you had no right to-"

"I had every right!" Jacques snapped. "Need I remind you, daughter, that you were the one who severed communication with me. Those letters were the only way I could stay in the loop. Now be silent!"

Weiss huffed in anger and returned to her meal.

"I was little rusty in the beginning," Jaune said, "But what Weiss said is right; I have gotten better."

"Enough to catch up with the rest of your family?"

Oh, that son of a bitch. If there was one thing he hated, it was being compared to the rest of his family. That insecurity had plagued him almost all his life, and practically destroyed his self confidence. The people in his village always commented on how weak he was, or how he was a failure to his family, though never when his mother, father or sisters were around.

It didn't help that his family recognised how weak he was. They never mocked him for it, but he hated how they practically treated him like a child because of it. Even his own father had spoken to him one day and said, albeit gently, that a warrior's life isn't for everyone, and he needn't worry if he failed at Beacon. He knew he said it to be kind, but it was humiliating for Jaune to hear.

"I don't think that concerns you, Mr Schnee," Jaune said, trying to keep his temper in check.

"It doesn't really," Jacques agreed. "But it may concern them, as well as Weiss here. They would feel sad if you were sent out on a mission one day and die-"

"Father!" Weiss hissed. "Don't you think that's enough? Jaune doesn't need to hear this."

"I say this for your benefit too, my dear," Jacques said with a roll of his eyes. "You clearly care for this boy. You don't want your last memory of him to be of his face twisted in agony, do you?"

Weiss froze at the thought. Her eyes widened as she stared at her boyfriend in panic. Winter tried to comfort her, whilst also glaring at her father. Whitley seemed a little amused at the whole ordeal.

"That would never happen," Jaune quickly said to Weiss. "Don't worry, Weiss."

"Of course it could happen," Jacques scoffed. "With someone with your fighting capability, I'm afraid death is almost a certainty."

"Father, please stop this." Weiss whispered, trembling a little at the thought of her boyfriend dying.

"It's a scary thought, isn't it Weiss?" Jacques asked the girl. "Well, now you understand how I feel about you and Winter. Despite whatever grudges you harbor against me, you're still my daughters, and I'd rather not have to see you come home in a body bag."

Oh god, now he had Jaune imagining it too. His family would be devastated; his mother and sisters would likely never get over his death. His dad might - being a huntsman, he probably saw a lot of death in his life - but he'd still be troubled throughout the rest of his life.

Could he really promise anyone that he wouldn't die? If he was being honest with himself, it was only because of sheer luck that he had survived this long. How long would it be till that luck ran out?

"I've gotten stronger…" Jaune weakly mumbled. "I have..."

"Could've fooled me," snorted Whitley. "I'll never understand Hunters. Training to die by the claws of some Grimm? Such a pointless practice."

"Don't talk about matters you don't understand, Whitley," Winter growled. "A hunter's life is a dangerous one, Jaune. But you will help many people with your service. You're already at Beacon, it would be a shame for you to leave now."

"What if I make a mistake though?" Jaune ask "What good am I to anyone if I'm…" He didn't want to finish the last part.

"Look what you've done," Winter seethed at her father. "You've made him doubt himself. There was no need for such cruelty."

"Cruelty?" Jacques said with a raised eyebrow. "I dare say I've just saved the boy's life. He would have marched off to his doom otherwise."

"But, if not a huntsman… then what do I do?" Jaune mumbled.

Jacques face lit up at that. "Fret not my boy. There's more than one way to gain power and influence. It doesn't have to be through bloodshed. Why, I can help you get there myself." He then leaned closer to Jaune. "Do you remember me mentioning your sister Daisy?"

What?

"What about her?"

"You told me she was fifteen, yes? Well, as it happens, that's exactly the age Whitley is." He gestured to Whitley who responded with a lazy wave.

Jaune really didn't like where this was going.

"What does any of this have to do with Daisy?"

"I was just getting to that. You see, my son is coming close to the age where, in _our_ social class, he will be expected to be engaged to someone. However, I would not have him pursue just anyone. It would have to be someone of worth, and a good name to boot."

A smile stretched across the older man's face. "I believe this sister of yours would be a suitable candidate for him. She is strong, and has a well respected family name. The two would be an ideal match, and I would have you help arrange it."

Nobody said anything for what seemed like eternity. Weiss and Winter were staring gobsmacked at their father, who awaited Jaune's answer. Jaune felt himself trembling in much the same way Weiss had, only it wasn't from fear.

At least, that's what his boiling blood told him.

"You want me," Jaune said slowly. "To abandon my dream, just so I can sell of my little sister?"

"No need to look so glum," Jacques chuckled, "This benefits you too, my boy. I'll be honest with you, you'll never bring your family honour from the current path you're heading down. From this, your family will be entwined with mine."

"You would be richer than you would ever be in ten lifetimes. Our influence would stretch all over Remnant. You would leave behind a legacy that would last generations. Even more so, if you go on to marry Weiss here."

"And to do this, I must choose my sister's life for her?"

"A small sacrifice, I'm sure," Jacques said with a toothy grin. "So what do you say?"

What would he say? He wasn't going to say anything. If he offered that again, he was gonna let his fists do all the talking for him.

Give away his youngest sister just for a chance at power? Jacques Schnee was a funny man; a very funny man. Probably the type to laugh at his own funeral, as Jaune thought he'd soon find out, as he eyes the steak knife he had been using a few moments ago.

"You…" Weiss stuttered. "You choose _now_ to bring up something like this?" She then stood up and slammed her hands on the table, tears forming in her eyes. "God damn you, you're such a fool!" She shouted.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Jacques scoffed, "I've wasted enough time trying to find a suitor for you a suitor."

"Shut up!" she screamed. "Just shut up, you stupid, thoughtless old man." She then broke off into sobs, whilst repeating the phrase "shut up" every now and then.

Winter had pulled Weiss into a hug and Jaune watched in despair. He had never seen Weiss look so broken before; not even during dangerous missions. And it was all because of Jacques, the man who had ruined what should have been a lovely evening.

And now he had just made his girlfriend cry? It didn't matter if he was her father, Jaune was going to beat the shit out of him. He was about to, until he saw Weiss rise out of her chair.

"Come on Jaune, we're leaving!"

"Now?"

"Right now. Today is ruined. I want to get far away from here as possible."

"You're not going anywhere, young lady!" Jacques roared. "I won't stand for such insolence."

"I won't stand for you at all," Weiss seethed back at him. It looked like a fight would break out between them, when they were stopped by a noise coming from outside in the hallway. It sounded like singing - really bad singing - at it was getting closer.

Just then, the doors burst open, revealing a tall, attractive woman with silver white hair and wine bottle in her hand. Judging from the family resemblance, Jaune assumed this was Weiss' mother.

She stumbled her way in as she continued singing off key. Klein followed behind her, as if to try and stop her from going further. The woman eventually stopped singing, and observed her surroundings.

"What's going on here?" the woman slurred. "You all started dinner without me?"

"We have a guest with us today, Willow," Jacques growled, appalled at what he was looking at. "As if we would wait for a drunk to join us."

"Why, you worried I might bring some life to the table?" Willow said before taking another swig at her drink. A small burp came from her afterward.

"Dammit Klein, what is she doing here?"

"My apologies, Mr Schnee," Klein said miserably. "I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"Just felt like getting my own refills, is all." Willow said. "So come on then, who's our lovely guest for the evening?" Her droopy eyes roamed over the table as she searched hard for the newcomer, despite how there was only five people at the table.

"Um, hello there," Jaune said nervously, as he found a way to distract himself from everything else. "I'm Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you, Mrs Schnee."

Willow locked eyes with him and stumbled his way. She had at least an inch over him, and looked down at him with a drunken smile.

"Well, hello to you~ " she purred as she leaned into his face. "Your a handsome one. Why am I only now meeting you now? Your face is wasted on someone like ol' Jacque-ass here."

Jacques gripped the table in frustration at the comment.

"Well, I uh, I wanted to meet you sooner," Jaune stuttered. "But you were unavailable to at the time, Mrs Schnee."

He tried backing away, wondering if the woman always this personal with everyone.

How did Weiss survive with these two as parents?

"Oh, and you got manners too," Willow grinned. "Don't worry, you can call me Willow if you want."

She then pulled him closer to her and grabbed his rear, giving it a strong squeeze.

"Though you look like you might prefer calling me _Mistress_." she whispered as she blew in his ear.

Oh God, someone help.

"Mother," Weiss coughed awkwardly, coming to Jaune's aid. "I'm the one who brought him here today. Jaune is my boyfriend, and I wanted him to me-"

"Wait, boyfriend?" Willow asked surprised, finally letting go of him.

"Yes" Weiss said. The two stared at each other without saying a word, until Willow broke the silence.

"I could've sworn you were gay."

"Mother!" Weiss gasped, mortified at the suggestion.

"Eh, can you blame me? You're on a team full of girls, you never talk about boys, and I always thought there was metaphorical reason as to why your ponytail isn't straight."

Weiss just stared at her mother like a gaping fish, before Willow turned her gaze to Jaune and poked his chest.

"You treat her right, you here? I don't care how fuckable you look-"

"Mother!"

"I'll summon a Beowolf to eat you up, should you harm her." Afterward, she looked back to the dining table and saw the wine bottle Jacques had by his glass.

"Ah, I was looking for that," Willow said merrily as she made her way down. She grabbed the bottle and held it out of Jacques reach.

"Put that down, you've had quite enough!" he snapped.

"Zip it, ferret-lip," she cheered. "Just need one sip for the road." She brought the bottle to her lips, when Jacques tried to wrestle it off her.

The two struggled against each other, before they both fell onto the table, tipping it upwards. Food and drink slid down the slope they had made, and spilled onto them, covering them and the floor.

Winter and Whitley remained in their seats watching the two, as Jacques scrambled around in the mess, whilst Willow drank from the bottle she had fought for, smiling happily as she did so.

All the while, Jaune and Weiss looked on in shock.

"We're leaving, Jaune" Weiss said bluntly.

[/]

The two walked in silence down the hallway; Weiss walking at a rapid pace whilst Jaune tried to keep up with her.

"Your mum is certainly friendly," Jaune chuckled.

Weiss didn't respond, although he didn't really expect her to. He knew she was still troubled after what happened. Hell, he wasn't feeling so great about it either. They were getting closer to the front door, and she still hadn't said a word.

"Weiss?"

"Can we just keep walking? I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Weiss," Jaune said, this time a little firmer. She stopped in her tracks but didn't turn to face him. After a brief moment of silence, she finally spoke up.

"This is what I was worried about happening," she whispered. "He's such a fool. I don't know why I thought today would be different, but I did. And now it's all gone wrong."

Slowly, Jaune approached in attempt to comfort her. When he was close enough, she quickly turned round and pulled him into a strong hug, burying her face in his chest.

"I shouldn't have brought you here," she mumbled into his clothes.

"This isn't your fault, Weiss," Jaune said softly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You did everything you could to make today special. Your father is the one to blame for everything."

She looked up at him with misty eyes. "He's just like I told you, isn't he?"

"More or less," Jaune grunted. "The way he spoke about me and his plans for my sister… yeah."

"Then come on, let's get out of here. I'll feel much better when I'm away from him."

The two of them walked out of the house, and made their way to the bullheads. This time, Weiss wanted to travel with him, claiming that she didn't want to travel alone. Jaune had no objections.

Before they took off, someone was rushing out of the house, calling out for them to wait. As the person got closer, they could see that it was Winter.

"Weiss," Winter gasped, "Oh thank goodness, I was worried I was too late."

"Winter? What are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"I wasn't going to let you leave without saying goodbye." Winter's expression then softened. "I am so sorry for what happened back there. If I knew father would be like this, I would have advised against this visit."

Weiss sighed. "What's done is done, I suppose. I'm feeling a little better now."

"Regardless, I'm sorry," she then turned to Jaune. "I owe you an apology as well, Jaune. I admit, I was wary of you at first. But you've proven to be a fine young man; one that I can trust with my sister. I hope to be seeing more of you in the future."

"Thanks Winter," Jaune said blushing. "For the record, you're an awesome older sister."

"I'm happy you think so," Winter smiled. "Speaking of sisters, don't worry. My lecherous brother isn't getting anywhere near yours. I apologise for his behaviour as well. He's becoming a little too much like his father for my liking."

"Meh, younger siblings. What can you do?"

"My thought's exactly." Winter said, laughing at Weiss' betrayed expression.

The two then flew off back into Vale. Weiss leaned her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her in closer by the waist. After all the commotion of before, the two found themselves beginning to doze off.

"I'll tell you what," Jaune yanwed. "Meeting my family is gonna be so much easier on you."

"Looking forward to it," Weiss giggled, before finally sleeping.

Jaune rested his head on hers, and the two slept the rest of the journey.

* * *

 **Ah well, not every family can be like Ruby's.**

 **Yeah, I didn't want to just write pure fluff for every chapter. I'll try mix things up a bit with each person Jaune dates.**

 **We haven't met Jacques for too long, although I feel like he's the type of person to push his agenda on people, the first chance he gets. Like how he did with Weiss and her singing. And Whitley is just a brat, so he was pretty easy to write for xD**

 **Finally, Willow Schnee was heavily influenced by Drunken Mama Schnee on Tumblr. Type it into google, and it should come up. Please check it out, it's a hilarious art blog.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh, this was meant to come out last week but my Wi-Fi crashed when I came back from Amsterdam. I live in a very country area, so stuff like this usually happens. You'd find it easier finding buried treasure than a decent internet connection where I live. I'm currently uploading this in my local library as we speak.**

 **Anyway, ranting aside, today's ship is Blake x Jaune. Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Oh, and for those asking for a Yang and a Neo chapter, my answer is yes, you will absolutely get one of those chapters... just not right now ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Knightshade**

* * *

Okay, maybe he wouldn't need his hoodie after all.

When Blake told him she came from Menagerie, he didn't know what to expect. He knew little about the island, only that it was a considered a safe haven for all faunus. He knew nothing about how large the island was, how the people lived there, or what the weather would be like.

Which is why he wasn't prepared for how hot it would be.

It turned out Menagerie was as tropical as they come, with the sun beating down on him and the humidity making his hoodie stick to him like a second skin. Jaune had only been there for five minutes and he was already sweating like a pig. He almost wished he was back on the boat. Despite how it made his stomach churn, he at least had the sea breeze to comfort him. Here he was completely exposed to the elements. The hot, sweaty elements.

"I told you to take it off."

Jaune turned to where the voice came from, only to be met with the disapproving face of Blake Belladonna - his current girlfriend. Unlike him, she had dressed appropriately for the weather, wearing a sleeveless crop top that revealed her skin, making her almost certainly more comfortable than him. She still wore trousers to cover her legs though.

How could a girl live somewhere like this, yet still be so pale? Granted, her skin wasn't anywhere near as white as Weiss', but she still looked like she barely ever saw the sun. Then again, it was hard to imagine a girl like Blake spending too much time in the sun. If she was anything like she was Vale, she probably spent most of her time sitting under one of the palm trees to read.

Then again, he wasn't complaining that she decided to show a bit of skin. How creamy and flawless it was, and the way her clothes left little to the imagina-

"When you told me it'd be hot, I didn't know it would be _this_ hot." he whined.

"Well, what were you expecting?"

"I dunno, just warm or something," he grumbled, pulling his hoodie over his head and tying it around his waist. He was lucky he had worn a T-shirt underneath it today. He felt a little better without the extra layers, but not by a lot. He wished he was as confident as Sun, and just walk around with his chest exposed. Sadly, he wasn't as muscular as him to pull it off, nor was he as tanned… or as confident...

Huh.

"You were gonna have to take it off at some point anyway," she said. "As if I'd ever let you wear it around my parents.

"Are you kidding me? I ironed it especially for them!"

"I'll pretend you didn't just say that," she groaned, putting her face to her palm, "Why do you insist on wearing that thing all the time?"

"It brightens the mood. Pumpkin Pete makes everyone smile!"

"I'm not smiling."

"You never smile."

She punched him lightly in the chest with a betrayed look on her face. "You take that back right now!"

"... well, I do see you giggling when you read Ninjas of Lo-" Her hand clamped round his mouth, preventing him from saying anymore. She looked both mortified and afraid.

"Not so loud," she hissed. "You don't know who's listening!"

Jaune laughed and pulled her hand away. "Sorry, I can't help it," he laughed. "You're just so easy to mess with. Now I know why Yang dose it all the time."

"Great, another annoying blonde in my life," she grumbled, turning her back to him. He pulled her into a hug from behind, resting his head atop hers. He was careful to avoid hurting her ears.

"Yeah, but I'm your favourite," he said, kissing one of her ears, getting a pleasant gasp from the girl. He knew how sensitive her ears were, and the effect they had on her when treated affectionately. It was one of the quickest ways to make her happy.

"Don't think you're off the hook just yet," she mumbled.

"Whatever you say~"

"And don't be doing this around my dad," she said, "Unless you want him to throw you into the sea."

That thought made him quickly pull away from her. Blake had warned him that her father was a little overprotective of her, and whilst he was pretty sure he could win him over, he really didn't want to get on his bad side. If what Blake said was true, Ghira Belladonna could be a very scary man when angry.

"I guess I can just stick to handholding for now," he squeaked. Blake rolled her eyes in amusement and took his hand in hers.

"Tell you what, you can prepare how to speak to them whilst I'm showing you around."

"Do we have time for that?"

"We still have an hour to spare," she said, "Besides, you can buy me something as an apology for that comment earlier."

"Aww c'mon Blake, it was a joke!"

"I'm sure I'll find it funnier over a cold drink," she giggled, then leaned in closer with a devious look on her face, "Don't worry though, I'm sure my dad would find it hilarious if somehow I was to accidentally tell him."

"... what drink did you have in mind?"

[/]

Jaune would admit, he and Blake were an odd couple.

He never expected to be with a girl like her, though this wasn't due to him thinking she was out of his league - that could be applied to every girl. The two were just, simply put, complete opposites of each other. He was chatty, outgoing and nervous, whilst she was quiet, antisocial and confident. That said, they both had it in their ability to be awkward at times.

About the only thing they did have in common, was their interest in books. Blake was already a literacy nut, but what a lot of people didn't realise, was that Jaune was also well read, and not just in terms of comic books. Having a mother who was an author tended to make you appreciate books.

Long before they were dating, Jaune and Blake barely even spoke to each other. They only really started talking when they saw each other in the library, and noticed they were both reading the same book. This then led them to talking about it, discussing what they liked and disliked about it. It had been an interesting talk, causing the two to want to meet up again.

After a few meetups, the two began to swap books with each other, although Jaune had to hid some of the romance novels she let him borrow from his team, as a lot of them were rather… descriptive. It was great thing they had going on; Jaune was happy to make a new friend, and Blake was happy to find someone in Beacon who shared her love of books.

Eventually, they stopped meeting just in the library, and starting meeting in other places. They met at cafes, bookstores, and sometimes even in their team dorm rooms - though this only happened when everyone else was away. It was during this time, that Jaune began to feel something for the girl, something not too unlike what he felt with Weiss. He knew it might damage their friendship, but he asked her anyway if they wanted to be more than just friends.

She had said yes so casually, he couldn't believe it.

And now here he was: in a relationship with her and walking around a tropical island. A sweaty and unusually cramped tropical island, filled with faunus who seemed to be suspiciously glaring at him and only him...

Ok, maybe the island wasn't for him. He imagined Sun would fit in no problem here. Blake would probably have a nicer time showing him around, the two of them enjoying each other's company-

 _Stop thinking that,_ he thought bitterly. _She picked you, not him!_

"Are you alright, Jaune?" Blake said, snapping him out of his daydreaming.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about what to say to your folks." he lied. It was better to say that than to bring up his insecurities.

Blake looked at him worryingly. "I know I joked before," she said. "But trust me, you have nothing to worry about. If my dad makes you feel uncomfortable, he'll have me and my mum to answer to."

"Sure, sure, alright then," he mumbled, pretending to act relieved. Looking for a distraction, he spotted a stall selling food and drink, with a young faunus woman running it. "Hey, you want anything from there?"

"Might as well, it looks cheap." she said as they made their way towards it. Jaune was getting his money ready as Blake looked over the drinks on display. Through the corner of his eye, he could see the woman behind the counter glaring at him, though he ignored it. The woman's mood started to brighten up as soon as she started talking to Blake.

"What can I get you, dear?" she said in a friendly tone. Blake asked for a bottle of water, using his money to pay for it.

"Consider your apology accepted," Blake said smugly, taking a drink of the water.

"Lucky me," Jaune grumbled, feeling a little parched himself. He approached the woman behind the counter, ready to make his own purchase.

"I'll just have the same as her," he said, money in hand. The woman made no effort to take it, the friendly look gone from her face. She stared at the lien like it was something disgusting, before looking back at him with a steel gaze.

"What's the matter," Jaune asked nervously. "Do I not have enough?"

"This store isn't for you, kid" the woman said sternly. "Take your money somewhere else."

"What? But you just served my girlfriend a few seconds ago."

"She's faunus. Your _human_ ," she sneered out the word. "I don't serve your kind. None of us do."

"What!?" Blake angrily made her way back to the stall, overhearing what she said. "What do you mean you don't serve his kind!? Menagerie is a place for everyone! "

"Menagerie is for the faunus. His lot aren't welcome here." The woman crossed her arms defiantly. "I'll gladly keep serving you, but he won't get any customer service from me. If he wants to buy something, he can shop literally anywhere else in Remnant."

Blake's clenched fist trembled, her teeth grinding together. Not wanting to cause a scene, Jaune tried to get them to leave, but Blake wouldn't budge on the matter.

"We're not going anywhere until this _racist_ gives you the respect you deserve." Blake snarled.

"Racist?" The woman laughed at the word. "That's rich. If it weren't for humans, I wouldn't be forced to live in this damn box of an island. Same goes for just about everyone else here. If you know what's good for you, dear, you'll leave his sorry arse before he stabs you in the back."

Fuming, Blake looked like the only person about to get stabbed was this woman. Sensing danger, Jaune grabbed her hand, pleading with her to leave. In a huff, Blake reluctantly left with him, though not before warning the woman that this wasn't over.

"The nerve of her," Blake growled, "I swear, she's one step away from joining the White Fang!"

She did, but then again so did half the other faunus on the island, judging from the way they looked at him.

"Your parents aren't gonna be like that, are they?" he asked.

"God no," Blake said, shaking her head. "Trust me, my family has no time for any kind of intolerance."

Well, that was reassuring at the very least.

Making their way to Blake's home, Jaune noticed the stares he was getting from the islanders. Most paid him no notice, but the ones that did seemed to glare at him in contempt. It was obvious that they didn't want a human intruding on their home, regardless if he was a racist or not.

"Um, Blake?"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"People are looking at me…"

Blake stopped and looked around, seeing that what he said was true. She saw the stares he was being given, the whispers directed his way. She looked even angrier than what she had before, if such a thing were possible.

"Fools, the whole lot of them," she seethed. "How can they expect to be treated better if they behave like this?"

In his shame and embarrassment, he untied his hoodie and started to put it back on. He was about to pull the hood over his head, when Blake stopped his hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked shocked.

"I'll take it off when we get to yours," he mumbled sadly. "Just until I'm out of sight, at least."

"What!? Don't be stupid, it's boiling right now. You'll get too hot with that thing on."

"I just want them to stop staring at me," he muttered weakly. He now knew what most faunus probably went through on a daily basis, and it was miserable. He never thought he would ever be treated like this though. He wanted to leave immediately. This place was making him feel too unwanted.

Blake didn't say anything for a while. He didn't know is she was looking at him, as he was too busy looking at the ground, trying everything to hide his face. He only looked up again when he felt her cool hands touch his cheeks, pulling his head upwards.

"I have an idea," Blake said. A mischievous smile on her face. "How about we give them something to look at?"

She then pulled the hood off his head, and pressed her lips against his. Surprised at first, Jaune felt his eyes close as he began to return the kiss. In the background, he could hear several faunus mutter their disgust, but he didn't care anymore. There was only one faunus who mattered to him, and she was kissing him now.

Pulling away from him, Blake looked back at him with the same smile as before. "Feeling better now?"

"Maybe it is getting a little warm," Jaune sheepishly said, his face burning bright red from such a public display of affection. He tied his hoodie back round his waist, and the two set off on their path once again. He still noticed people giving him the odd look every now and then, but they didn't bother him as much as what they did before.

 _Better them passive-aggressive than aggressive-aggressive,_ he thought.

Eventually, the path led them atop a hill that looked over a large portion of the island, with various houses built in the area. A much larger house - practically a mansion - stood in the centre of the area.

"Go ahead," Blake said proudly. "Guess which one is mine."

"It's the big one, isn't it?" Jaune said without skipping a beat, causing Blake's happy expression to drop in an instant.

"W-what makes you think that?" Blake said, looking for some way to preserve the surprise reveal. It didn't work, as Jaune rolled his eyes at her fake shock.

"Please, pretty much everyone I know owns a huge house," he explained. "Ruby and Yang's home is a massive log cabin, Weiss almost certainly lives in a mansion, and Pyrrha told me her place just got an extension." He turned to her. "So yeah, am I right?"

Blake sighed in defeat. "It's the big one."

"Called it," Jaune said happily, much to Blake's annoyance.

The pair made their way down the hill and approached the huge wooden doors of the house. Blake knocked on the metal knocker on one of the doors, the two then waiting for a response.

After a while the door opened, revealing one of the biggest men Jaune had ever seen. Towering over the pair, the man hand long black hair, a thick bushy beard, and appeared to be made from pure muscle. Looking up at him, Jaune saw a scowl on the man's face that made his legs wobble in fear.

"Jaune, this is my dad." Blake said. "Dad, meet Jaune, my boyfriend."

 _That's her dad!?_ Jaune thought. He looked even more terrifying than what he had imagined. He looked like the kind of guy that would use Crocea Mors as a toothpick, and could probably snap it just as easily as one. His yellow eyes stared down at him, brimming with disapproval.

"Oh, there he is..." Ghira said bluntly, his voice just as intimidating as the rest of him. Jaune forced himself not to gulp, but it was hard with such a scary guy staring down at him. He hadn't even said anything yet and it already felt like Ghira hated him.

Moments later, a smaller woman appeared from behind Ghira. She had short black hair and two cat ears like Blake, only hers had earings - two on her right, one on her left. She pushed past Ghira to greet the pair, with a warm expression on her face.

"Oooh, there he is~" the woman said in a singsong voice. "About time we get to see him, Blake."

"It's not like I was hiding him," Blake said, before looking up at her father. "Well, not from everyone at least." She then looked back to Jaune, "Jaune, this is my mother, Kali."

"Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Belladonna." he greeted.

Ghira didn't say anything, only responding with a small nod.

"The pleasure is ours, dear," Kali smiled. "Please, come on inside. I can make you some tea if you like?"

"That'd be very nice, thank you." he said, feeling safer than what he did before. Kali seemed to be the exact opposite to her husband; she was friendly, chatty and didn't look like she wanted to punch him through a wall. She seemed to like him as well, so that helped too.

Ghira… well, hopefully he'd be able to change his mind later in the day.

[/]

After getting a brief tour of the house, everyone sat down for dinner. The majority of the food consisted of fish and barely anything else. Kali did prepare something for him just in case he was allergic to fish, but he told her it was fine. He didn't normally eat fish, but he wasn't about to decline it. He didn't want to anger Ghira, thinking he was insulting his wife's cooking.

Blake devoured her meal so quickly, Jaune thought she might secretly be a piranha faunus rather than a cat. It was funny to see his normally lax girlfriend go crazy on something as simple meal. Kali and Ghira ate at a more steady pace, looking at their daughter as if she had gone months without food, judging from the speed she was eating.

"Have you ever been to Menagerie before, Jaune?" Kali asked him.

"Not once," he said. "This is my first time here."

"Oh, is that so?" Kali said excitedly. "It's always nice seeing a newcomer. How are you finding it?"

"It's er…" Jaune didn't know what to say, unsure if he should bring up what happened earlier. In the end, Blake made the decision for him.

"Someone refused to serve him today," Blake said angrily. "We went to a food stall, and the woman wouldn't even sell him a bottle of water, just because he was human."

Kali looked absolutely shocked at the news. Ghira raised an eyebrow, but the look in his eyes showed that this surprised him as well. Jaune squirmed a little in his chair. He was hoping to avoid any unnecessary drama today.

"How appalling," Kali said with a little anger in her tone. "I'm so sorry, Jaune. She had no right to do such a thing."

"It's fine," he said bashfully.

"It's not fine, Jaune!" Blake snapped.

"Well, I _know_ it's not, but… I can kinda understand why she did what she did." Kali and Blake looked horrified at his answer, causing Jaune to quickly follow up his response. "Let me explain, humans have been mistreating faunus for years. Most of them are treated like second class citizens, and everyone knows how the SDC treat them. So really, I guess I shouldn't be too shocked if they mistreat me-"

"Let me ask you a question, Jaune," Ghira interrupted. "Have you ever bullied a faunus because of their species?"

"Um, no?"

"Have you ever underpaid a faunus for the same amount of work as a human?"

"No."

"Then you have nothing to apologise for," Ghira looked him dead in the eye. "Don't make excuses for the actions of a racist. Yes, humans and faunus have a difficult past, but she was in the wrong this time. Not you."

Jaune felt a huge confidence boost from Ghira's words. Sure, the man still intimidated him, but it was touching to see him take his side on something. Now, if he could only get him to approve of him and Blake…

"Yes, most faunus do hold some prejudice against humans," Ghira sighed. "I just didn't think it would go this far. Not in Menagerie at least. I'll have to bring this up in the next council meeting."

"Council meeting?" Jaune asked. "Are you a politician or something."

"Oh, he's a little more than that, dear," Kali giggled. "Ghira's the chieftain of Menagerie."

"The what?" Jaune gasped. "Are you serious?"

"You didn't think I could afford this house by working in retail, did you?" Ghira scoffed.

Jaune quickly turned round to Blake. "Blake, why didn't you tell me this? I would've, like, bowed or something!"

"Good thing I didn't tell you then," Blake said. "He's chieftain, not king. And don't start referring to him as 'Your Majesty' either."

"I'm sorry, I just didn't realise what a big deal your parents were. It's like meeting royalty or something."

"Oh, you give us too much credit, dear." Kali smiled, before turning serious again. "All joking aside, what happened won't be ignored. Menagerie is a safe haven for all, even if that woman forgets it."

"Thank you for your concern, Kali."

"Not at all," she said sweetly. "I'm hoping to see you here more often. It's only natural that we make you feel more at home."

Nice! Hearing Kali approve of him was a win in his book. True, the kind faunus looked like she'd be friendly to everyone, but the victory was still there.

"Well, maybe not too often-"

"Ghira!"

"Dad!"

"Joking, joking."

Well, one victory had to count for something.

[/]

Jaune stood outside the door, his heart hammering in his chest.

A little while after the dinner, Ghira had asked Jaune to meet him in his office. Privately. It took much reassurance from Blake that he'd be safe to make him agree.

Ghira never said why he wanted to speak with him, only that he wanted to. So, with heavy breathing and wobbly knees, Jaune entered the room. Ghira was sitting behind his desk, doing some paperwork. He looked up upon hearing him enter.

"Thank you for seeing me, Jaune," he said. "Please, take a seat."

"No problem, sir" Jaune said, sitting down on the opposite side of him. Ghira looked at him sympathetically for a while before speaking again.

"Do I scare you that much, son?"

"What? No, of course not," Jaune said panicky. Ghira's expression didn't budge though, causing him to confess. "Well, maybe just a bit…"

"Yeah, I figured as much," Ghira groaned and started rubbing his temple. "Forgive me, Jaune. I don't mean to scare you off.I'm just rather wary of who my daughter brings home."

"It's alright, sir" Jaune said. "I think all dad's are like that. I know mine is."

"Maybe so," Ghira nodded. "But I like to think I have a good reason to be. In fact, that's what I brought you here to talk about."

Ah, this was probably the part where he had to convince Ghira of his worth. He had been waiting for this moment, even if he didn't feel very prepared for it.

Looking at Ghira though, Jaune noticed something a little off about him. He still looked as serious as before, only this time, he also looked slightly… worried.

"You aren't the first person my daughter has been in a relationship with," Ghira began. That didn't surprise him. A girl as beautiful as Blake could only stay single for so long. "There was another, a few years ago actually." Ghira sighed. "How much do you know of the White Fang?"

"Not much. Only that their widely regarded as terrorists. Although, looking at what they've been up to, it's probably fair to call them that." And that Blake was a former member, though he didn't know if that was still a secret or not, so he didn't mention it.

"Yes," Ghira sighed angrily. "The movement hasn't been the same ever since I stepped down as leader."

… Eh?

"You were also leader of the White Fang!?" Jaune cried.

"Trust me, son, we were different back then."

"I-I'm sure you were," Jaune stammered. "It's just, well, was there anything you weren't?"

"I suppose I wasn't a good judge of character," Ghira grumbled. "Before I stepped down, I elected a new leader of the White Fang branch in Vale - a boy named Adam Taurus."

Adam Taurus. The name sounded familiar. He felt like he might have heard it on the news once.

"The boy's a rabid dog," Ghira snarled. "He's tarnished the White Fang's once proud name through his acts of terrorism. What's worse, he managed to sway many faunus into his extremist way of thinking." Ghira went silent for a moment. "And for a time, he was also Blake's boyfriend."

Jaune was surprised. This was news to him. Blake had never mentioned him before. Judging from Ghira's description, she probably had a good reason not to.

"Blake doesn't talk about him often," Ghira said in a cold, quiet voice. "For a while I think she was happy with him. At least, I hope she was. But then everything changed. _He_ changed." Ghira's fist clenched as he spoke. "I don't when it started - perhaps when he started using less peaceful methods to gain equality - but once it did, everything went wrong. Blake told us everything about him - about the monster he was becoming." Ghira's fist started to tremble.

"He abused my daughter, Jaune." The words silenced the world around them. "My little girl, and he treated her like dirt. Blake told us he was possessive, manipulative, and very quick to anger. She had no freedom around him, and he would often force her to do things she didn't want to do. He even tried turning her into the same kind of monster he had become." He took a deep breath. "The only reason she managed to leave was because she escaped on a train during a mission they were on. I dread to think what she would be like if she was still with him."

Jaune didn't say a word as he sat back, listening to Ghira speak. The news had shocked him to his core. Words failed to describe the horror and anger he was feeling.

"I'm not a violent person, Jaune," Ghira said quietly. The edge in his voice still present. "But if I could get my hands on him, I'd-" He trailed off, then let out a deep sigh. "So yes, I suppose I am a little overprotective. But it's only so that my little girl doesn't go through that hell again."

Jaune sat in silence a little while longer, letting what Ghira had said sink in. Eventually, he found the will to speak again.

"I'm not Adam Taurus, sir." Jaune said softly.

"Perhaps not, but even Adam Taurus didn't seem like Adam Taurus until later."

"But that's not me," Jaune shook his head. "I am nothing like him. I swear to you."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well, first of all, your daughter could kick my arse if I did anything wrong. No question." Jaune and Ghira both laughed a little at that. "Second, because she means the world to me. Everytime I'm around her I can't help but smile. She's everything I aspire to be: confident, passionate, smart, and she's such a strong fighter too. She's perfect and guy like me totally doesn't deserve her." He stared down at the ground.

"I think I love her." he murmured.

Now it was Ghira's turn to be silent, as Jaune awaited his reply. Jaune didn't know if he should look up again. Did he really just confess like that? I mean, thinking back now, there was no doubt in his mind. He did love Blake. The beautiful, quiet girl who had given a scrub like him a chance with her.

But after hearing what Ghira said, maybe it was a mistake admitting that now. Jaune felt like he had just lost his chance to be with her. A feeling that dreaded him in ways he didn't think were possible.

"As I said, Blake doesn't talk about Adam a lot," Ghira spoke, this time with a small smile on his face. "But she won't stop talking about you. Ask Kali, and she'll tell you the same thing. Everyday, she seems to find something new to talk to us about you.

"You're making my daughter happy, Jaune," he continued. "You make her feel safe, valued, but most of all, accepted. She may not always look it, but she adores you."

Whatever dread he was just feeling washed away in an instant, replaced with a much warmer feeling that had his heart racing.

"You've treated her better than that boy could ever hope to. For that, you have my utmost thanks."

Humbled. Honoured. Proud. Those were the words that could best describe how he was feeling. Hearing that coming from him had Jaune bursting with pride.

"So does this mean you approve of me?" He felt great but he still felt like he had to ask.

Ghira smiled. "This is me thanking you, Jaune. Give it a little longer, and then I'll have my mind made up." He turned serious for a moment again. "Did you mean what you said earlier? About how you felt about her?"

"Every word."

"You best tell her soon then. Before those feelings become an unhealthy obsession." He smiled again. "Thank you for hearing me out."

"No problem, sir." Jaune said. "I understand your concerns but trust me, you have nothing to worry about me doing anything to harm Blake." He was not Adam. He would _never_ be Adam. "Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"I think that'll be all," Ghira said. "You can run off back to Blake now. I'm sure she's missing you." She probably wasn't. She was likely reading somewhere. "I only ask that you don't mention any of this to Blake. Best not to reopen old wounds."

Jaune promised he wouldn't, and made to leave for the door. Before he left, Ghira called him back.

"One last thing, Jaune. It's Ghira."

"Sir?"

"My names, son. It's Ghira. You can drop the 'sir, yes sir' crap. I'm off duty for now."

"I see," said Jaune. "If it's all the same to you though, I'd like to keep calling you 'sir' until I win your approval."

"As you will, but don't think it scores you any favours," Ghira laughed. "Now off you go. Never keep a lady waiting."

On that note, Jaune left the room. For a moment, he reflected on the conversion that just happened. Despite his awkwardness, Jaune had just earnt Ghira's respect. Granted, he had yet to get an official approval, but this was a good start as any. To think, that such an intimidating man saw him as someone of good standing…

Ah, there was that sweet feeling of pride again.

[/]

Jaune hadn't been walking for more than ten seconds before he bumped into Kali.

The two stumbled a bit upon contact before regaining their footing. Despite his confidence boost from earlier, this reminded him that he was still as clumsy as ever.

'Oh God, Kali I'm sorry," he stumbled. "I should've been looking where I was going."

"It's quite alright, dear," she giggled. "No harm done. Hey listen, how was my husband? He wasn't too hard on you, was he?"

"Not at all," he said honestly. "In fact, what we spoke about was very helpful."

"Helpful? Well that's a first," she chuckled. "Well, regardless of what he might think, I'm happy to have you in our home, Jaune. It's nice to see Blake together with such a nice young man. Especially one as handsome as yourself." She pinched his cheek whilst saying that. "I bet you had all the girls after you at Beacon."

"Er, not exactly," he said blushing. "Really, I'm just lucky Blake even gave me a chance. "

"Nonsense," she scolded. "I don't know if you've noticed, but my daughter is hardly the most sociable person. You must be something special to bring her out of her shell like this."

He'd been called a lot of things, but never special. Well, his mum and dad used to as a kid, but he always considered that as a parent thing.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said suddenly. " I actually was looking for you earlier."

"Looking for me?"

"Yes, there's something I've been meaning to give you. Follow me." Kali lead him through the house as Jaune wondered what was happening. Was she planning to give him the same talk Ghira did? If so, he could probably handle it better coming from her, unless she had a secret dark side under that sweet demeanor.

Eventually, she led him to a bedroom and reached down under the bed to grab something. Standing up again, she held several books in her hand.

"These are for her," she said handing them to him. "Or rather, both of you. I'm sure you'll like them."

Looking at the covers, he almost dropped them in shock. Judging from the covers and titles, these looked like the smuttiest books he had ever seen. Reading the blurbs didn't help either. Some of the these probably put Ninjas of Love to shame.

"My little sweetheart really enjoys these books," she said sweetly. "Though, I suppose you already know this."

"I… might have noticed." How was he supposed to react to this? His girlfriend's mum had just given him porn!

"I've read these all myself," she stated. "Regrettably, there's not an awful lot of plot in any of them, but I doubt that will bother her."

"Yeah, this is, uh, very thoughtful of you, Kali."

"You'll appreciate this one," she pointed to the book on top of the pile. "This one even has pictures for when you feel like experimenting."

"Pictures? Experimenting?" Jaune was shaking like a leaf.

"Now, I know young couples like to get a little frisky with each other," she said with a wink. "So hopefully these will help make the experience more enjoyabl-"

"Oh wow, I think I hear Blake calling me."

"Huh? I didn't hear anything. And I have four ears."

'Yeah, no, that's definitely her. I better get a move on. Thanks for the books, Kali." He bolted out the room faster than she could blink.

"Use protection you two." he heard Kali call back in a happy voice. Thank God Ghira wasn't around to hear any of that. He'd probably break his neck under the weight of all these books. _Why does she have so many!?_

Well, turns out he was right; Kali did have a dark side, but it was more terrifying that what he could've expected.

[/]

He found Blake out on the decking. The sun was beginning to set, making the water shimmer as it did. In the distance, the villagers started lighting the lanterns hanging from their homes, decorating the village with little specks of light.

Even if the place made him feel uncomfortable, Jaune couldn't deny that the view was beautiful.

"You look out of breath." Blake noted.

"Yeah, I went for a little jog." he lied.

"A jog?" She looked down at the bag in his hand. "What's in the bag?"

"Er, it's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing."

"It's just something your mum gave me. I'll show you another time."

"What, is it meant to be a surprise or something?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Kinda?"

"You're so weird," she scoffed. "So, what do you think? Still as nervous as you were before?"

"You were right. I had nothing to worry about," he said. "Your dad still scares me a bit, but I think we've reached an understanding."

"That's good. For a while, I thought he might have you running off."

"Nah, running away is more your thing," he winked, causing Blake to punch him on the arm.

"Next time we're out, you can buy me a hundred drinks for that," she growled. Jaune laughed it off and the two of them stared back at the view.

"Today was great," he said. "Menagerie will take some time getting used to, but your family's awesome."

"They are, aren't they?" Blake said softly. It looked like something was troubling her. "I've spent so much time away from them. Sometimes I even went weeks without calling them."

"Blake-"

"I'll be honest, I too was a little nervous going home. I thought for sure I was gonna get a scolding." She looked down disappointed. "Goes to show how well I know my own parents, huh?"

"Blake, you can't beat yourself up over past mistakes. Hell, if I did that, I'd never get out of bed," he said. "Your parents aren't gonna hold over your head everything you've done wrong in the past."

"I get that," she said. "Still, I feel as though I deserve a little bit of scorn for my actions."

"Trust me, I think their too busy being happy that you're home to hold grudges," he scoffed. "Although, you might want to bring this up with them if it's bothering you like this."

She looked at him. "Since when did you get so smart?"

"Maybe I've spent too much time around you."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not that smart."

"Probably not," he smiled. Blake looked a little relieved after that talk. Now was probably the time to bring up his concerns too. "Blake, can I ask you something?"

"Suppose."

"This might sound a little weird, but I need to get it off my chest." He took a deep breath. "Why me?"

"Why you what?"

"Why did you agree to go out with me?"

Blake met his gaze with a look of shock. "Why are you asking that now?"

"I dunno, I guess I've just been doing some thinking," he sighed. "You saw how I was with Weiss. How I kept pestering her for the chance to date her."

"Didn't you just tell me not to beat myself up over past mistakes?"

"This is different. I just wanna know what made you wanna go out with me. Especially when you had someone like Sun wanting to-"

He was stopped when Blake grabbed him by the shoulders, making him look right at her. "Is that what this is about?" she demanded. "You wondering why I chose you over Sun?"

"How could I not?" he said. "He seems to be everything a girl would look for in a guy. Everything I'm not. I just don't understand."

"Forget what I said about you being smart," she groaned. "Jaune, Sun's a great guy, but he's not really my type."

"Seriously?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hundreds of girls would happily tear her apart for saying that. Some of them could even be his sisters.

"No. This might sound ironic, but he's a little too clingy for me." Yes, it did sound ironic. "Let this be a lesson, Jaune. It doesn't matter how good looking he might be, no woman wants to be hounded down."

"Isn't that exactly how I was with Weiss though?"

"You were," she admitted. "But you were different around me. When we first started talking, you were only interested in being my friend. Your attraction for me only came much later. With Sun… it was just too sudden for me. He came on too strong for my liking, so I never really had the chance to develop feelings for him. No offense, but that's probably why Weiss rejected you as well."

None taken. He had gotten over Weiss along time ago.

"Mind you, there is another reason I chose you over him," she said quietly. "I admire you."

Well… that he hadn't expected to hear. He had never been admired before. He felt that sort of praise was reserved for people like Pyrrha.

"You may not be the strongest or smartest guy out there," she said. Yeah, that sounded about right. "But you're one of the most determined people I've ever met. You don't let anything stop you in getting what you want. You've had slip ups, sure, but you haven't let them slow you down. You keep moving forward." She poked him lightly in the chest, smiling up at him. "I can really appreciate that in a man."

Wow. Jaune didn't know what to say. All those things she had just described, he had never thought anything special of them before. To keep pushing himself, to keep working himself to the bone, he always thought he had to do those things, lest he let his team down and be ridiculed as a failure. To hear someone admiring his actions… he felt like some kind of superhero. Especially considering who was saying them.

He had no idea Blake ever felt this way for him before. He wondered if it would be a little corny to start getting teary eyed.

"Blake…"

"It also helps that you're completely for equal rights," she winked. "So then, was that a good enough reason for you?"

Like she even needed to ask. He didn't say anything, he just pulled her close and kissed her under the sunset. It was finally beginning to disappear, creating an orange glow around the couple. He couldn't have asked for a more appropriate setting. She was right, he was a headstrong person. He would keep fighting to improve for himself and his team. Only this time, he had one more reason to keep fighting.

One beautiful, cat-eared, book-loving reason.

* * *

 **Done. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'm trying to hold on to whatever schedule I think I might have, but it turns out I'm just as busy now as I was before, due to scripts needing to be written and other freelance work I'm doing. I don't wanna rush things though, but I will try to upload as often as I can. I'm still trying to avoid having a month with no knew chapter.**

 **Oh and just a heads up, next chapter is Jaune x Yang. Neo fans, you're gonna have to wait a wee bit longer. Don't worry though, I have something planned for her :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here we go, time for some Dragonslayer. Figured it was only fitting I post this in July. This one is a little longer because Yang has a lot of family to cover, but hopefully you'll all enjoy it. I doubt the other chapters will be this long, but sometimes the idea I have dictates them to be. Ah well, it must be done. Anyways, please enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Dragonslayer**

* * *

If you told anyone that in a few years time, Jaune Arc would be dating a girl like Yang Xiao Long, they'd laugh in your face and slap some sense into you.

The matchup was just too ridiculous to even imagine happening, as the two seemed incompatible with each other. One was a dorky, socially awkward boy who could barely swing a sword. The other was a confident, fiery girl whose skill and charisma was rivaled only by her beauty.

It was easier to imagine a Grimm marrying a human than it was these two even holding hands. A relationship between the two of them just didn't seem possible.

And yet, it worked. Despite all the rules of society and the cosmic laws of the universe, Jaune Arc had managed to defy them all by being Yang Xiao Long's boyfriend. He, the boy who didn't even know how to properly talk to girls not that long ago, was dating one of the biggest heartthrobs in Beacon.

The only downside was how many of the guys in Beacon had vowed to kill him. Other than that, he had hit the jackpot, as Yang so often reminded him.

"Still feeling nervous, loverboy?" Yang teased. The two were sitting at a cafe in Mistral, waiting for her family to arrive. Yang had chosen the location for where they should spend the day, and even booked a hotel for the two of them, so that they could stay a little longer. When Jaune asked why she chose Mistral of all places to meet, rather than her home in Patch, she never went into too much detail.

She only said that she really wanted to come here, which he didn't feel the need to argue with.

"To be honest, if your folks are anything like you, I don't think I've got anything to worry about."

"Oh? And how do you think I am?" The twinkle in her eye warned him to choose his words carefully.

"Well, I guess the only thing I've gotta be scared of is a barrage of bad puns." Okay, he didn't need to choose _that_ carefully, as she playfully slapped his hand.

"Don't lie, you love my jokes. And even if you don't, tough shit. They all come part of this package." She gestured to her body for emphasis.

"Yeah, but sometimes I wish I kept the receipt," he smirked. She glared at him and poked him in the chest.

"Listen here _babe_ , I'm the funny one in this relationship and don't you forget it."

"Fine, fine, you're a comic genius," he laughed. He knew she was just semi-joking, but he still knew better than to try his luck with her.

"Good," she grinned. "For a second there, I was worried I'd have to show you just how funny I can be."

"I don't know if my sides could take it." He said with an eye roll. They both laughed and went back to their drinks. After a while, he spoke up again. "But seriously, what can I expect your parents to be like?"

"Well, me and my Dad are pretty much the same person. His sense of humour is much the same as mine, though I'm a million times funnier."

Oh God, that probably meant double the puns. His ears would probably be bleeding at the end of the day.

"And your mum?"

"Don't worry," she laughed. "Mum's a little more tamed than we are. You'll get on just fine with her."

Thank God, he needed at least some sanity today. He adored Yang, but some of her jokes could make even deaf people cringe. Not that he would ever say that to her, but his reactions did most of the talking for him.

"Oh, I should probably mention, Ruby's coming along too."

"Is she?" he asked surprised. "I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but I don't see why she'd want to."

"Yeah, normally she'd rather stay at home," she smirked. "But she insisted. Said she wanted to see how well you treat me outside of Beacon." She laughed at the last bit. "Gotta say, I never thought I'd see her play the part of 'protective sibling'. She's growing up fast.

"So I've got two fully trained hunters, and a huntress prodigy watching my every move today? This is gonna go well," he grumbled.

"Dad's hardly the judgy type," Yang laughed. "And Ruby already adores you. Just be grateful my uncle Qrow isn't coming today. Now that would be an awkward meeting."

Yeah, he had heard stories of what her uncle was like. Without sounding mean, he was glad he wasn't meeting him today.

"No offense, Yang, but I still can't believe someone like him is allowed to teach kids to be hunters."

"None taken. I had to endure several lessons with him when he was hungover. I don't embarrass easily, but seeing your uncle belch and groan his way through a lesson is just too much." She shuddered at the memory. "Still, you can't deny his teaching had results. Even more so when you look at Ruby."

"Yeah, that's true. Though I guess it helps when every member in your family's a hunter."

"It has it's advantages, yeah," she grinned and then squeezed his arm. "Maybe I should get him to train you. He might whip you into shape a little bit."

"I think I'm good, thanks," he said, pulling his arm away. "Pyrrha's training is tough enough. I don't need someone like him training me, especially when I'm dating his niece. He might work me until I drop dead because of it."

She laughed. "Suit yourself. But don't blame me if you're stuck looking like a noodle for the rest of your life."

"Hey, I've packed on a bit of muscle," he protested, flexing one of his arms to prove it.

"Whoa, easy there, Hercules," she said sarcastically, "Don't make the rest of us feel bad."

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," he grumbled, causing Yang to pinch his cheek.

"Told you I was funny," she giggled. Her eyes then went wide as she looked over his shoulder. "Oh, here they are. Come on, time for me to show you off." She dragged him by the arm and brought him towards the approaching trio.

One was a tall, tanned, muscular blonde man who Jaune was slightly hoping he'd end up looking like in the future. The other was an attractive, dark haired woman with red tips and silver eyes. If he didn't know better, she could've been Ruby's older twin sister.

Speaking of Ruby, she was already waving to the pair, her face beaming as she saw the two together. Yang released her grip on his arm, stood him up straight and dusted off every bit dust he was certain he didn't have. "Mum, Dad, say hello to my new man," she proudly announced. Not used to being put on the spot like that, Jaune shuffled awkwardly as he felt all eyes on him.

"Er, yeah, as Yang said, I'm her boyfriend. My name's Jaune," he nervously chuckled. "It's really nice to meet you both." He looked down at Ruby. "Glad you could come too, Ruby."

"Nice to meet you, Jaune," the man said happily as he patted him on the back. "Name's Taiyang, but you can call me Tai, and over there's Summer."

"It's great to finally meet you," she smiled sweetly.

"Now then," his face suddenly turned serious. "Am I to understand that you plan on being Yang's boyfriend?"

"... That's the idea, yeah." Oh no, he knew this talk was coming, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. At least, he had hoped Yang wouldn't be around to hear it. Still, it was probably best to get it outta the way quickly, like ripping of a plaster.

"Well, if that's true, then we've got a few things to say to you," Summer said, the once sweet looking woman looking about as serious as her husband.

Jaune stood his ground, ready to prove himself worthy of dating their daughter. He had thought of a million and one reasons as to why he deserved her, rehearsed them in front of a mirror, and wrote a few on his hand as a reminder. He could do this, he just had to speak with confi-

"Don't let her pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do."

… Huh?

"Excuse me?" Yang asked bewildered.

"Our daughter can be a bit of a spitfire, Jaune," Taiyang said. "So don't let her to do things you're uncomfortable with."

"This might include getting into bar fights, driving too fast, and drinking too much for one's own good," Summer continued, ignoring Yang's look of horror. Ruby cackled through the entire time.

"Are you kidding me, I don't do any of those things!" Yang cried. "Jaune, I swear, they're making this up."

"So, I guess that time you blew up that night club never happened, did it?" Ruby asked deviously. Yang trembled at the sight of her traitorous sister.

"It's alright, really," Jaune said, quickly rushing to his girlfriend's defence, though secretly happy that he was off the hook. "She's never pressured me into doing anything. Being with her is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

"See?" Yang said, swinging an arm around him and bringing him close. "I'm a sweet little angel and he knows it."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that," Taiyang chuckled. "Honestly, when you said you were in a serious relationship, your mother and I couldn't believe it."

"You know me, Dad. I'm full of surprises."

"If you think that's a surprise, wait till you hear how they got together," Ruby murmured.

"Speaking of surprises, why are we in Mistral?" Summer asked, looking to Jaune for answers. He shrugged and admitted he knew as much as they did. "What did you have planned for today, Yang?"

Yang's face lit up as she remembered her plans for the day . "Just a little something that the whole family can enjoy."

"And we had to come all the way to Mistral to enjoy it?"

"You know it," she beamed. "Now come on, we gotta get going. I don't wanna miss a second of it."

The group then set off again, with the fiery blonde leading the way.

[/]

"Wait, what? No, you can't be serious."

"As serious as it gets, Mum."

"But that's- that's so… Tai, honey, say something!"

"I gotta admit, that is a weird way for two people to get together."

Yang laughed at his reaction, whilst Jaune scratched his head sheepishly. Yang had just got done telling her parents the story of how she and Jaune got together. Needless to say, Summer's reaction was priceless.

It all started on a Saturday night when Nora brought everyone around to play Spin the Bottle. All of the teams were there that time, and everyone was huddled around in Team JNPR's room. The last time they played, Jaune had ended up kissing Ren, which surprisingly wasn't that bad, though Nora did give him the evil eye for a while.

The next time they played, he was hoping for the chance to kiss Weiss, though when the bottle landed on Yang, he hardly complained. Yang was a good sport about it, telling him to pucker up, and the two kissed. It didn't last long, but it got a few giggles from the group.

But when he pulled away and waited for the next round to start, Yang grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and brought him back in for another lip-lock.

" _I can't help it,"_ she had said at the time. _"For someone with no experience, he's a damn good kisser."_

From that day on, Yang had made Jaune her own personal kissing buddy, always ready to experience more of his 'magic lips' as she called them. The rumors quickly spread about him and his kissing skills, so to ward off any incoming harlots, Yang laid claim to Jaune by making him her boyfriend. His lips were hers and hers alone. The relationship only sustained when the two got to know each other better overtime, and they had been inseparable ever since.

And so, that was the weird and wonderful tale of how Jaune and Yang got together. And Summer just couldn't believe it.

"B-but that's not how it's supposed to happen," she cried. "That's not how love works at all. You're supposed to longingly desire each other, but keep your feelings buried in case of ruining your friendship, until you stare into each other's eyes and all the feelings you've bottled up are released in a heated kiss of passion."

"You've really gotta stop fantasizing like that, Mum."

"Oh, hush," Summer said, turning to Ruby. "Promise me Ruby, that when you meet your first love, it'll be under a starlit sky or something."

"Muuum, I'm not even thinking about things like that yet," Ruby whined.

"Now, now, dear," Taiyang laughed. "Why don't we just let them be who they are. Besides, they look happy enough, don't they?"

"I guess," Summer grumbled. "Jaune, please tell me that you at least by her flowers."

"Mum, when have I ever been into-"

"She like tulips," he said automatically, unaware of Yang's blush. "Although, sometimes I mix it up a bit by buying her roses."

Summer beamed at him. "At least one of you gets it."

"Argh, enough," Yang snapped. "I'll have no more talk of flowers or mushy stuff for the next few hours. Especially considering where we're going."

"And where are we going?" Jaune asked.

"You'll see, loverboy, you'll see." she cooed. After several minutes of walking down the streets of Mistral, they came across a flight of stairs leading down in a suspicious looking alley. It might've been a dangerous area for some people, but everyone in the group was a hunter. They ate danger for breakfast, or at the very least toast.

Walking down the stairs, they were greeted to a burly guy standing by a metal door, asking for a password. Yang gave it, and he let them inside. He looked a little confused as to why a family was looking to enter, but he didn't question it. He probably wasn't being paid enough to ask questions.

The door led them to a very large, rather dimly lit room with a boxing ring in the centre of it. Two men were standing in it, eyeing each other down, and there was already a large group of people watching. Some were shouting out support, whilst some were screaming obscenities at either of the fighters.

A boxing match… why did he expect anything else? And it looked to be a bare-knuckle match, if the lack of boxing gloves was any indicator. Their seats were placed near the front, giving them a good view of the ring.

"Yang, this place doesn't seem very… legal," Jaune whispered, looking around at the sketchy looking people and the drabby room.

"Pfft, it's only considered that cause some people in charge are wimps," she giggled, entwining her fingers around his.

"Yang, how did you find out about this place?" Taiyang asked, clearly not liking what he saw. Summer as well looked less than impressed.

"Oh, I know a guy who knows a guy who tells me things."

"Hmph, so much for being a sweet little angel," he muttered.

"Meh, even God had to be a badass every now and then," she shrugged. "Trust me, you'll thank me for bringing you here once the match starts."

After a few minutes of fidgeting in their seats, the bell rang and the match began. It started off with the two just circling each other, before one of them threw the first punch, hitting the other guy square in the mouth. Jaune was surprised to see blood trickling down the guy's mouth.

"These guys don't even have aura," he said.

"Duh, of course not." Yang said. "They're boxers not hunters, they don't need it. Besides, it makes it more interesting if they don't." She then stood up and started shouting to the boxers. "C'mon, you can hit harder than that." This caused the crowd to get fired up too, and soon everyone was crying out for action.

The match continued and the boxers got only more bloody because of it. One had a black eye and a broken nose, the other had his face caked in red and almost certainly was missing a few teeth. Still, they kept on fighting, unwilling to let their injuries get the better of them. The arena glistened with the blood staining it, and at one point one of the boxers slipped on it and fell down, giving the other a chance to go to town on his face with his fists.

They were surprisingly skillful fighters. When Jaune first saw them, he expected them to fight like petty thugs and nothing else, but the techniques they were using would probably put him in trouble if he fought them, with or without his sword. Jaune ended up admiring the way the two fought; how they seemed to predict each punch from the slightest movement, and the way they would skillfully dodge out the way or just shrug it off if it hit them.

And the best part was they seemed to be enjoying it. Sure, they were beating the shit out of each other, but it seemed to be out of sport, rather than any hatred they felt for each other. When the half-time bell rang, one even helped the other up and patted him on the back. It was awesome to watch.

By the second round, Jaune found himself shouting alongside Yang, something he didn't think was going to happen today. In fact, all the family seemed to be getting into it, minus Summer, who was looking appalled at the sight she was watching.

"This is barbaric," she scolded. "Don't you agree, Tai?" Her husband did not answer, eyes glued to the ring. "Taiyang!"

"Huh? Whu?" He briefly broke out of his trance. "Oh, sorry dear, didn't notice you there."

"Please don't tell me you're enjoying this?"

"Me? Enjoying this? Pfft, don't be ridiculous," he nervously laughed. "But… you gotta admit, they know how to put on a good show."

"Unbelievable," she muttered. "Still, at least Ruby still has some common sense-"

"DO A BACKFLIP!" the little rose screamed.

"I give up," she groaned, knowing she was going to win this fight. Her voice went unheard though, as the shouting and screaming of the fans drowned her out.

She didn't have to wait for too long though, as the match drew to a close. The winner was given some prize money, and everyone shuffled out of the room. The group was walking the streets, buzzing from what they saw.

"I gotta admit, that was great," Jaune said. "I feel so alive from watching that."

"I knew you'd see it my way," Yang smirked.

"That was awesome!" Ruby cried. "One guy was like 'Hoowaah' and the other was like 'Pow, Pow, Punch'. So cool."

"I might actually learn a thing or two from those guys," Taiyang said.

"Mad. That's what you've become. You've all gone mad." Summer cried.

"Ah, c'mon Mum, don't be such a stick in the mud."

"Well, pardon me for having standards. Fighting in that manner disgusts me."

"Are you kidding me? Your a huntress!"

"And yet, even I have more restraint than those barbarians."

"Don't listen your mother, kids," Taiyang said. "That was awesome, Yang. Now I don't know about you guys, but I could go for something cold right now. Who's up for ice cream?"

Even Summer had to agree on wanting one, despite still grumbling about the values of civilised combat.

They went to an ice cream cafe as their final stop of the day. Everyone had ordered something moderately sized, whilst Ruby had bought almost the entire menu to appease her sweet tooth. She got a nasty case of brain-freeze because of it, but that hardly stopped her.

Jaune was put under the spotlight during his time there, as Taiyang and Summer asked him about basically every little detail about him, but he had expected them to do so, and answered whatever questions they had to the best of his ability. He told them about his dreams of becoming a hunter, his family and anything else they were curious about.

Overall, it was a very pleasant day. They seemed to approve of him too, which was a plus.

Before they were ready to leave, Jaune headed for the toilet, and was stopped by Ruby when he was coming out. She looked pretty serious.

"Hey Jaune. Can I talk with you for a moment?" she asked.

"Er, sure, Ruby. What's up?"

She took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter. "I know you've been with Yang for a long time now," she said. "And I know you care about a lot about her. But I just want to make sure you won't do anything to hurt her."

"Ruby, you know I never would. You don't have to worry about stuff like that."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "Sorry, I'm not trying to sound like I don't trust you or anything. I just want to be sure that you'll treat her right. She's my sister, you know how it is."

Yes he did. With seven in his family, he knew a thing or two about protective siblings. Caring for the safety of one's family was perfectly normal.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, then I'll say it now. I promise you, Ruby, that I will never do anything to hurt your sister." he said firmly. "And if I break that promise, feel free to hunt me down with that scythe of yours."

She laughed at the idea of that. "Well, hopefully it won't come to that. I prefer hunting Grimm than friends. Hey listen, sorry if it sounded like I was doubting you before. What you said has really put me at ease."

"Don't apologise. She's your family, and you were just looking out for her. You're a great sister, Ruby."

Ruby clearly liked what she heard, judging from the smile on her face. "Wanna know a secret?" she said. "This is the longest she's ever spent being in a relationship with someone. Normally, her relationships are strictly casual,, but with you it's different. She must really care for you, Jaune."

"You think so?" Jaune said, a small blush forming on his face. "I've never really thought about it like that before. I mean, I know she cares about me, but… wow, that's a lot to think about."

She giggled a little at his realisation. "Try not to stress yourself out thinking about it. Anyway, we best be going before everyone starts asking questions." They then headed back to where everyone else was, with Jaune thinking about the potentially deeper feelings his girlfriend may have for him.

After a while, they arrived at the Bullhead station, the young couple ready to see off the trio.

"I must say, it was a pleasure to meet you today, Jaune," Summer said, pulling him into a small hug.

"Same here," Taiyang said as he shook his hand. "Nice to see Yang hook up with someone who isn't one of those 'bad boy' douchebags."

"Once again, I don't do stuff like that," Yang called from a distance.

"It was great meeting you both too," he said. He then looked down at Ruby and ruffled her hair. "It was also nice to see you again, Ruby. I'll see you back in Beacon."

"Looking forward to it," she said, before leaving for the next Bullhead with her parents. They waved at the pair from inside, and the young couple stayed until it disappeared off into the horizon.

It was coming to the end of the day when they left, so Yang took them back to the hotel they would be staying in. It was a fancy enough place and their room had a huge double bed, a TV and a view that showed mountains surrounding the city.

"See, told you they would love you," she said.

"Hey, I never said that they wouldn't."

"Please, you were shaking in your boots before they showed up."

"There is nothing wrong with being a little nervous before meeting your girlfriend's parents," he protested.

"Aww, were you afraid that big nasty Summer would beat you up?" she teased him as she pinched his cheek. He shook her off to save his dignity.

"Alright, it was silly, I get it," he groaned. "She almost certainly could though."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad are pretty badass," she agreed. "Speaking of family, when do I get to meet yours? I'm looking forward to winning over Mama Arc's love."

"Probably not for a while. There's one too many blondes in our family. I'd probably end up losing you." He'd at least wait until half of his sisters were out of the house first. That might make it easier to control things.

"Pfft, as if you could ever lose sight of me," she grinned, suddenly stepping closer to him. She pressed herself up against him and threw her arms around his neck. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we stop talking about other people and enjoy the time we have to ourselves? I dunno about you, but that bed is looking pretty warm right now."

"T-that sounds nice," he stammered, letting her lead the way like she always did. One these days, he swore he would stop being surprised when she did stuff like this.

[/]

It was the sound of movement that woke him up.

Jaune rubbed his eyes and looked around. He knew something was immediately wrong when he no longer felt Yang's warmth beside him. Looking to his side, he saw her missing from her side of the bed.

He panicked a little, until he saw the light coming from the bathroom. He relaxed, thinking she had just gone to the toilet. She'd come back to bed and everything would be back to normal. He worried about her more than he probably should.

After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom, except she was fully dressed and… in her combat gear? She even had Ember Celica equipped.

"Yang?"

She turned round, startled at the sound of his voice. She muttered a curse under her breath before addressing him. "Go back to sleep, Jaune. Sorry for waking you."

Go back to sleep? He didn't think so. "Yang, what's going on? It's really late, why are you dressed like that?"

"There's something I gotta do. Don't worry about me, I'll be back soonish." She made to leave for the door, when he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Wait, slow down. What's really going on here? And don't give me any of that 'it doesn't concern you' crap. Being mysterious is Blake's thing, not yours."

"I'm not being mysterious, and it really isn't your problem. Look, I've already said I'm not going to be long, so just go back to bed. I promise to tell you more about it in the morning.

That wasn't good enough for him. She hadn't been wearing her combat gear yesterday, and she sure didn't look like this was just a simple errand run she was going out for. She might've found his persistence annoying, but he cared too much for her to let her place herself in harm's way. She could take care of herself, no doubt, but he didn't want to risk anything.

"Yang, look at yourself. You're up at God knows what hour, dressed like you're out for blood. There's clearly something going on here. If you tell me what it is, I might be able to help you."

That slowed her down a little. She didn't say anything for a moment, but then looked up to meet his eyes. "There's another reason why I wanted to come to Mistral," she said quietly. "It's a matter of family."

"Family? We just met your family."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I guess we did. We met Dad and… Summer."

Something about the way she said her name didn't sit right with him. "Well, yeah, we did. What's your point."

Her gaze was completely humorless. "Jaune… do I look _anything_ like Summer to you?"

She did not. But that was hardly a bad thing, was it? "I don't see what-"

"You don't see anything!" she suddenly snapped. Her eyes turning red for the briefest of moments. "There's not a bit of her in me. I bet it was hard to believe she was my mother from a first glance, wasn't it?" She let out an angry sigh and tried to control herself. "Make no mistake, as far as I'm concerned, Summer _is_ my mother… but in my eyes, she'll always be Ruby's mother first."

Now that she mentioned it, Ruby and Summer did look practically identical. Yang certainly inherited more from her dad than she did her. Hell, Summer didn't even share her last name. That could only mean one thing...

"Summer isn't your biological mother, is she?"

She sighed glumly. "As much as I wish she were, she isn't. We may be family, but we're not blood. She's Ruby's birth mother, not mine."

"Then who is, if you don't mind me asking?"

She looked angry, but it didn't seem like she was angry at him. At least, he hoped she wasn't. "A woman named Raven Branwen," she muttered. "She's actually my uncle Qrow's sister. She used to be married to my dad for a time. Apparently, it went pretty smoothly for the first few years."

"And they had a divorce, I take it?"

She laughed harshly. "A divorce, I could handle. At least it would have been a mutual arrangement. No, what she did was worse. She vanished. She _fucking_ disappeared without a word. She left only a few months after I was born, and hasn't shown her face since. She broke Dad's heart when she did, and it apparently took the combined efforts of Qrow and Summer to pull him out of his depression."

Jaune couldn't imagine a man like Taiyang ever depressed. He seemed like such an upbeat guy to ever let that happen to him. The idea of that happening scared him a little.

"And do you wanna know the worst part?" Her eyes had turned red again and stayed that way. "I know she's fine," she hissed. "If she had disappeared because she died on a mission or something, it would hurt, but it would be understandable. But that's not what happened. I know Qrow still talks to her every now and then, so she's still alive and kicking. She willingly abandoned my Dad and left him and me to fend for ourselves. She's just… she's such a…"

Yang looked like she was ready to explode, when Jaune quickly hugged her and started stroking her hair. Normally, her hair was a off limits to anyone, but he had learnt after a while that gently caressing it was a good way to calm her down. It certainly helped when she occasionally lost her temper.

"Sorry," she said, relaxing into his touch. "I don't often tell people this. It's hard to control myself when thinking about it."

"Don't apologise," he said softly. "I wish you told me sooner, but I don't blame you for how your acting. I'd loose my cool too if something like that happened to me."

"Heh, you always gotta be a sweetheart?"

"Whenever I can. Although, you still didn't answer my question. Why are you dressed like that."

She pulled away from him, looking a little less angry. "She's the main reason I came to Mistral. I want to find her."

His eyes widened. "Find her? I thought you said she vanished?"

"I also said Qrow still talks to her," she grinned viciously. "He tipped me off recently, saying that he last saw her operating in this area." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm gonna hurt down, and I'm gonna make her tell me why. Why she abandoned me and Dad, why she didn't even give us a reason for doing so. And if she doesn't tell me right away, I'll beat the truth out of her."

It was a noble cause, and Jaune would back her every step of the way. However, something about it was troubling him. The whole thing sounded a bit risky to him.

"Are you sure you should be looking for her? I mean, I can understand why you'd want to, but what if you found your mother, got the answers you're looking for and didn't like what you heard?" He trusted Yang enough to never let her temper go too far, but this was a very personal thing she was talking about.

"Tch, you sound like my uncle," she scoffed. "He said the exact same thing, said that finding her wouldn't bring me peace. But you know what, I'm not looking for peace. I'm looking for closure. I deserve some answers, damn it!" Her fist trembled and Jaune worried she might have another outburst.

"This wouldn't be the first time I tried looking for her," she mumbled. "The last time I did… well, let's just say I wasn't ready. But I'm more than capable now, and I'm ready to get the truth I'm rightfully owed."

And there it was, her infamous drive that carried her through life. He had seen it in her eyes every waking moment he was around her, even before they were dating. She wasn't budging on this.

"Your heart's really set on this, isn't it?"

"One hundred percent."

"Well then, looks like I have no choice. I'm going with you."

"Thanks for seeing it my wa- wait, what?" Yang stared at him baffled. "What do you mean you're coming with me?"

"I'm not sure how I can make myself more clear," he said, already putting on his clothes.

"But wait, hang on a minute now. Jaune, this really isn't your problem."

"It is if someone has wronged you." He began to tie his shoes.

"Damn it, Jaune, what if something happens to you out there? You haven't gotten your sword or your armour. You could get seriously hurt."

"So could you, regardless of your skill." His voice started to sound stern. "It doesn't matter how prepared you are, Yang. You're still going out into a potentially dangerous area at night alone. Anything can happen out there."

"I can take care of myself," she growled.

"I don't want to risk that," he snapped. "If I found out the next day that you died in some unknown location all by yourself, how do you think I could live with myself, knowing that I could've done something to help you? I wouldn't be able to, Yang. Regardless of how you might view it, I still would've let you down."

He took a breath to compose himself. "So please, let me watch your back at the very least. If not for you, then for me, just so I can feel easier knowing your just that little bit safer."

He awaited Yang's reply. Even if she said no again, he'd probably still sneak out and watch over her from a distance. She might call him a stalker, but so be it. At least he'd know she'd be alright.

"Damn," she eventually said. "Since when did you get so assertive?"

"Guess you have that effect on me," he chuckled.

"... fine," she said. "Fine, you can come with me." His heart soared until Yang put a hand on his chest, her gaze locked on him. "But here's how this is gonna play out," she said firmly. "You do exactly what I say when I say it, and you never leave my sight. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." Her serious expression began to turn softer. "I guess it would suck if you got eaten too."

"Is this you getting soft on me?"

She laughed. "Don't bet on it, Vomit Boy. Now let's go, I'm hoping to be back at least by sunrise." The two then set off, leaving the safety of the hotel and the city, to delve into the wilderness of Anima.

[/]

They had been looking for at least two hours, yet they still hadn't made any progress.

This wasn't too surprising, as Jaune doubted they would find her anytime soon, but it was quickly becoming taxing. He was always alert, whether it be from a potential Grimm attack or any other danger. They hadn't encountered any threats yet, but that didn't mean he could drop his guard. The effort was tiring him, though.

But he soldiered through it, for Yang was still determined as ever to find her mother.

In the beginning, he thought this quest was doomed to fail, although he would never admit it. This was mostly because he doubted Yang even knew what Raven looked like, as she abandoned her when she was very young. His suspicions were defused, when she had shared with him an interesting revelation.

" _She saved my life recently,"_ she had said. _"I was on a train, getting my arse kicked by some weird mute midget, when she suddenly jumped in and saved me. She wore mostly red, and wore a bone-white mask over her face. You never forget that kinda look."_

" _What if she's not wearing the mask? How will you recognise her?"_

" _Dad also has a photo of her - a group photo of when they were all still a team at Beacon. Don't worry, I'm not going on a total wild-goose-chase here. I know who I'm looking for."_

Raven had saved her… well, that was a little comforting. It meant that she still cared somewhat for her daughter. But if that was true, then why did she leave? Well, maybe they'd get the chance to ask her if they found her.

'If' being the keyword, as the wilderness was seemingly endless.

Jaune had asked her is she was certain they'd find her here rather than the city, and she said yes. Apparently she didn't like being exposed in large populated areas for too long, probably in case someone recognized her.

And so they trekked through the vast woodland, looking for any sign of the woman. Even if they didn't find her tonight, Yang would look again tomorrow. That was the reason why she had booked the hotel out for several days. That being said, she had also done it because she genuinely wanted to spend more time with Jaune, which was nice.

They were currently by a river, stopping to refill the water bottles they had brought with them. Looking for missing parents was thirsty work.

"Still nothing," Yang grumbled. Even she was getting a little tired. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I'd thought we'd be onto something by now."

"Yang, Anima is massive. It may take us the whole night to even find her footprints."

"If you wanna go back to the hotel then go. I'm staying here though."

"That's not what I meant. I was just trying to put things into perspective. It is gonna take us a long time."

"If that's what it takes, so be it. I've waited seventeen years, I can easily go another few hours."

Jaune took a moment to look at her. Even when she was sleepy, she still managed to have more fire inside her than anybody he knew. A lot of people may have saw her as just a pretty face with an equally stunning body, but it was when you got to know her, did you realise just what a powerful woman she was, emotionally and physically.

How many people would have the resolve to go through with what she was doing? Not many, he imagined. But then again, nobody was like Yang Xiao Long. People like her were one of a kind.

"See something you like?" she teased, catching him staring at her.

"What can I say? Determination is a good look for you."

She laughed and punched his shoulder playfully. "You pick now of all times to start flirting?"

"It's not a flirt if it's true."

"Well, you better get used to this look then, cause your gonna be seeing it all night. I'll only start looking happy again in the morning." She stood up. "Ready to keep on moving?"

"As I'll ever be," he said, standing up alongside her. The two continued their hike, searching high and low for Raven. Each search was becoming more fruitless.

"Maybe we're going about this wrong," Yang said. "Maybe we need a better view of the land."

"How are we gonna do that? Ride a Nevermore?"

"Or we can climb a hill, smartass," Yang scoffed. C'mon, I can see one over there. If we go up it, we might be able to see more clues, like if she lit a fire or something."

The two headed for the hill Yang pointed out. It was a large rocky thing that stood tall over the trees. Yang made a good point; if they went up it, they would be able to see better. Of course, that thing looked like it would exhaust them climbing up it, but he'd worry about that later.

It took a lot of energy to climb the thing, and the surface was rough on his feet. If he had known he'd be doing something like this, he would've packed hiking shoes. Then again, it was difficult to know what you were in for when you were dating Yang. Each step felt risky, and one wrong move could potentially have him falling down. He stuck close behind Yang, who seemed to have better footing than him.

"Just try not to stare at my butt for too long and loose you footing," she called down to him jokingly. Normally he would've replied, but the climb was starting to take his breath away. Plus, he didn't want to lose his concentration.

After a few minutes of climbing, the two reached the top. Even though the climb was tough, he couldn't deny the view from the top was gorgeous. There wasn't a cloud in the starlit sky, and the moon shone over the trees that covered the land.

"I gotta say, that looks lovely," he commented.

"It does, doesn't it? She mumbled. "See if you can see anything from up here. You look one side, I'll look the other." She turned away from him and looked over her side of the hill. He stayed where he was, looking for any trace of Raven.

It wasn't gonna work out. They needed binoculars or something if they wanted to look long distance. And it was impossible to spot a singular person amidst all these trees, even with the view they had. They were better off calling it a day and coming back with a larger group of people to look.

But how was he supposed to tell Yang that? He looked back at her and saw that same look of determination on her face. His idea was logical, but she would be so disappointed to end the night with no progress made.

Why did that worry him more?

He chose to keep his mouth shut and keep on looking. Maybe the view would help, and he just wasn't looking hard enough? He leaned in further to try to get a better view for what he was looking for.

Big mistake.

The ground beneath him was weaker than he expected, and gave way under his feet. He had just enough time to yelp in surprise, before gravity took hold and he was sent tumbling down. Yang turned round to the sound of his voice, but it was too late. He was already over the edge.

His body smacked against rock and dirt as he continued to fall. His clothes began to tear as they scraped against the jagged surface. Dirt flew into his mouth and eyes, blinding and choking him as he made his descent.

If it wasn't for his aura, his body would be cut to ribbons as it smacked against the felt like he was falling forever, and even started hitting branches as he got closer to the ground.

He eventually landed with a thud, his body aching from the experience. He leaned, coughing and spitting out dirt as he tried to stand up.

He groaned. It felt like he'd been hit by a train driven by Nora. Aura had helped shield his body, but there was only so much it could do to suppress pain. And right now, his body was hurting a lot.

He heard Yang calling for him atop the hill. He tried calling back, but it didn't sound like she heard him. He pulled out his scroll and tried to call her.

"Damn it," he cursed angrily. His scroll had gotten busted during the fall, and had a huge crack going down the screen. It was useless to him now. It also meant he couldn't check his aura, though it felt like he had hardly any left.

He started limping back to the base of the hill to try and meet up with Yang. His chances of survival on his own were next nothing. If he could meet up with Yang, he'd be a lot safer.

He tried walking at a faster pace, but his leg wouldn't allow it. He gritted his teeth, and continued to walk through the dark wilderness on his own. His body ached with each passing step.

A low growl stopped him dead in his tracks. He looked behind him, and saw a pair of red eyes emerging from the shadows. The figure then made itself clear.

A lone Beowolf...

For a moment he didn't move, like a deer caught in the headlights. He stared back at the beast as it began drooling at the sight of him. His breath caught in his throat and his heart raced a mile a minute.

 _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit._ These were likely gonna be his last thoughts.

What was he gonna do? Fight it? With what? He didn't have his sword.

It was getting closer.

Run? He could barely walk, and even if he could, it could easily chase him down.

 _So closer._

Stumbling, he picked up a jagged rock that had followed him on the way down. It was small and there was no way it would save him, but he wanted to die fighting.

 _I'm going to die,_ he thought, his fingers trembling and his legs shaking. He could even feel his teeth chatter. The realisation was too horrible to comprehend, but it was true. He was not going to survive this.

His family, Yang, Team JNPR and RWBY, he wouldn't have the chance to say goodbye to any of them. He was going to die alone in the woods, with some Grimm chewing on his body. This was exactly what he was trying to protect Yang from.

The Beowolf snapped him out of his thoughts and charged at him, it's teeth sinking into his leg. Jaune yelped in pain as he was brought to the floor, the beast dragging him around violently. In pain, Jaune brought the rock up and slammed it against it's head. It bounced off the beast's thick skull.

Its jaws tightened around him, causing him to cry out in pain. Using the sharp end of the rock, he jammed it into it's eye, causing it to yelp and release it's hold on him. He barely had anytime to recover, when it smacked him with it's paw, it's claws scratching him across the face.

The pain brought him back to the ground again, as the beast quickly recovered and charged at him again. It stood over him, his blood dripping down from its fangs and onto his face. Jaune closed his eyes, not wanting to see what would come next.

 _I'm sorry everyone,_ he tearfully thought, as it gave one last growl, ready to tear into his throat. It bared its teeth and leaned in closer.

 _*Slash*_

Jaune waited for the end to come, but nothing happened. He looked up, only to see a headless Beowolf atop him. It's head lying next to the left side of his body. In revulsion, he quickly pushed the body away from him, as it already began to disappear.

He was alive… someone had saved him.

 _He was going to live!_

He looked around, looking to find his saviour and thank them for all that he was worth, when he saw what was potentially them standing off in the distance, wielding a red sword. The person looked to be a woman, and was dressed in red and had long, flowing, spiky black hair. She wore a white mask that looked a little like the skull of a Grimm.

She turned her head to him, two blood-red eyes glowing from under the mask. Whoever his saviour was, she looked like something out of a horror movie.

"T-thank you," he weakly mumbled. He would have said more, but the woman's appearance combined with what happened still had him stunned.

"Return home while you can, boy," she said coldly. "This is the last time I will do this for you. Do not expect this kindness again." She turned away from him, beginning to walk into the undergrowth.

Jaune studied his saviour. If he remembered what Yang said, this woman seemed to fit the description of her mother. She dressed in red and wore a white mask. Admittedly, that's all he knew about her, but there was no one else in the woods with him right now, and this woman seemed to fit the bill.

"Raven Branwen?"

He said the words suddenly, seeing if it would gain any reaction from her. For all he knew, he could be completely wrong, but he had to ask.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks. He took this as a good sign. It meant that the name probably meant something to her. She didn't move a muscle, she just stood there with her back to him.

The next thing he knew, she was standing over him with her blade to his throat.

"How do you know that name?" She snarled. She had moved so quickly, he could barely comprehend what was happening. "Speak now or forever lose the chance to."

"I-I know your daughter," he stuttered in his panic. The sword pressed deeper into his neck. He did everything he could not to swallow. "She's the one who told me about you. We came here looking for you."

"What business do you have with Yang Xiao Long?" He struggled to answer with the sword at his neck. She kicked his side to encourage him. "You are making it very tempting for me to kill you, boy. Speak up!"

"I'm her boyfriend," he cried out. "I swear, that's all I am. I'm her boyfriend."

Well, saying that probably sealed his fate. He clenched his eyes shut, waiting for whatever was going to happen next. Instead, all that happened was the feeling of the blade being removed from his throat. He cracked open one eye, and saw the woman sheath her sword.

"Stand up," she ordered. Despite the pain in his leg, he did so without question.

After a few moments of silence, she removed her mask. Her face was eerily similar to Yang's, with only the main differences being her eye/hair colour, and the age lines on her face. She still managed to maintain a youthful appearance, and was a very beautiful woman, he could admit.

"Indeed I am Raven Branwen," she eventually said. She looked down at her mask with a troubled look. "It seems my appearance is starting to get a reputation. I must see about changing it, before everyone recognises me."

"Well, to be fair, I only recognised you based on what your daughter told me."

She looked back up at him. "You claim to be my daughter's boyfriend?" She sounded confused, but she wouldn't be the first person to be.

"Uh, yeah, that's me," he said, holding out his hand. "Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you, I guess."

She stared at his hand but didn't take it. "You don't seem like her type."

He nervously chuckled at that. "Yeah, a lot of people would agree with you on that. I admit, I'm a bit of a dork, I'm not very popular and I-"

"Social status has nothing to do with my observation. I'm saying you're weak." That… he hadn't expected to hear. "I see you have aura, meaning - judging from your age - you must be a hunter-in-training. Yet I had to be the one to save you from one singular Beowolf. It wasn't even an alpha."

"Can you really blame me for that? I didn't even have my weapon?"

"Hunters _are_ weapons. If you really too much on the strength of an object, rather than your own, you're a fool. Any hunter of good standing would've been able to snap it's neck, or cripple it's limbs. You chose to hit it with a rock."

Jaune was taken aback by that. "Well, lucky for me, Yang is dating me for my strength." Was this seriously the woman Taiyang had first fallen in love with? I mean, she was pretty, but her personality was much to be desired.

"A notion I will probably never understand," she said. For a moment, her face looked a little troubled. "How… is my daughter anyway?"

His ears perked up at that. Was this her showing a genuine interest in Yang? It's certainly sounded like it, so he decided to indulge her.

"She's happy," he said. "We had a lovely day in the city, and I got to meet her parents - Taiyang and Summer."

"Taiyang and Summer," she hummed. A small smile forming on her face. "I always did think they'd be good together, even after he and I got married. He deserves someone like her. She'll make him happy, I'm sure."

Was that regret in her voice? He ignored it.

"Your daughter's a very stunning girl," he continued. "I'm honoured to be her boyfriend."

"Well, at least you have more sense than strength, I'll give you that." Her mood seemed to be a lot brighter than before. "I'll be honest, I never thought I'd see the day when I would meet my daughter's boyfriend. It's… interesting, to say the least."

"And I never thought I'd be up late at night, looking for her missing mother."

Her face darkened. "Careful boy. I'm enjoying this talk, so don't squander it now."

"I meant nothing by it," he said calmly. Well, he kinda did, but she didn't need to know that right now. "This was your daughter's idea to come looking for you, not mine. I'm just here to help."

Her features softened a bit. "This was really all her doing?"

"Yes."

"Then if you really care about my daughter, you'll tell her to give up this search and go home. She's wasting her time."

On that note, she started to leave again. Jaune stood where he was, watching her go. The gratitude he had for her was quickly leaving. Yang had spent a lifetime looking for this woman, and she thought she could just walk away again?

Oh no, she wasn't getting away that easily.

"Wait, where do you think your going?" he snapped. It might've proved to be disastrous for him, but there was no way he was letting her just walk away.

She didn't slow her pace. "What's it to you?"

"I spent half the night looking for you. Don't you think I'm owed some answers?"

She scoffed. "I've already saved your life. As far as I'm concerned, I've done enough for you."

"Then what about Yang?" That had her stopping. "She's out here too, you know. Don't you think she deserves to know why you left her and Tai all alone?"

She turned her head slowly, her eyes glaring back at him. "You know nothing of which you speak of," she warned quietly. It didn't matter, he was done being intimidated by her.

"Then enlighten me."

"I'll do nothing of the sort!" She stormed back to him. "Listen to me, boy, my reasons for leaving are entirely my own. I owe you no explanation."

"But you do owe one to Yang and Tai."

She hesitated. "I… I can't. They'd only try to stop me."

"Of course they would. You're still their family."

"There are matters I must attend to that go far beyond them. That's all you or anybody else needs to know right now."

"So you're not even sorry for what you've done?"

Her sword flew out of its sheath and was pointed straight at him. Her hand trembled with rage.

"I didn't enjoy leaving them," she seethed. "But it had to be done. A storm is coming to Remnant, and it's my job to prevent it. There are dark forces at play here, boy. Nightmares which you can't even imagine. If they come to be, you don't want to be alive to see it."

This might have spooked him any other day, but all it was doing now was frustrating him. This woman spoke in fits and riddles, rather than actual answers.

"If this threat is so dangerous, why don't you ask them for their help? Maybe they could do something to help you?" If there was one thing Yang inherited from Raven - other than her hair - it was her stubbornness.

She shook her head. "They would not understand my methods. If my brother didn't, they certainly wouldn't. It's best if their left in the dark for now."

His anger rose. "And look at what leaving them in the dark has done for them. Tai went through a depression streak, and Yang is left longing for her mother. You still think leaving them did them any good?"

"She will grow from the pain, they both will. Conflict builds character. By the time she's done hurting, she'll grow into an incredibly strong woman, just how I always intended for her."

"You've got a lot of nerve claiming responsibility for Yang's success, when you had nothing to do with her."

Raven's eye twitched and started breathing deeply. She raised her sword over her head and brought it down. So, she was gonna kill him, was she? Well, so be it. At least he had proved his point. He didn't close his eyes this time, instead choosing to stare at her head on.

The blade never hit him, but sliced through the air beside him. A crackling noise was heard, and Jaune turned to see a red portal form behind him.

"That should take you to Yang, wherever she might be," she said eerily calmly. "You claim to be making her happy, so I'll forgive your insolence for now. But you better leave now, before I change my mind."

The way she gripped her blade showed she was not kidding. Fair enough, he felt like he wasted enough time on her anyway.

"This isn't over," he growled, making his way towards the portal. It might've led him to his death, but he was likely going to die in the woods anyway. Using it was a risk he was willing to take.

"You must care a lot about her," she said. "She's lucky to have you in her life."

He turned back to her one last time. "She's unlucky that you aren't." On that note, he disappeared into the red.

[/]

He reappeared at the base of the hill where they had first walked up.

Yang was still calling his name, unaware that he was a little distance behind her. He called to her, and she spun round in an instant. Her hair looked frazzled and her eyes were red. He could tell that it wasn't because she was angry.

"Jaune!" she cried out, throwing herself at him. They both crashed to the ground with her on top of him.

"Careful, careful," he weakly chuckled. "My body's still healing from the fall."

"You idiot," she growled. "You had me so worried. I thought you were dead, why didn't you answer your scroll?"

"It got busted in the fall. Sorry for scaring you." She responded by slamming her lips on his, with enough force to leave him bruised. She held on tight to him whilst he rubbed her back, acting as a silent apology. She stayed like that until she pulled back for breath. The look on her face showed just how scared she was for his health.

"Don't you ever put me through something like that again," she growled, punching his chest. "I told you you wouldn't be safe, but you wouldn't listen. If anything happened to you, I would have… I…" She never finished her sentence, choosing instead to groan and help him onto his feet.

"How about we head back to the hotel? I'm tired and your wrecked. I just wanna forget tonight."

They started trudging their way out of the woods, with Yang keep a close hold of him at all times. It was an easy enough walk, minus the pain in his leg and the bruises on his body. At least they didn't run into any Grimm, which was a small mercy.

Jaune filled her in with what happened - how he fell to the bottom and tried making his way back to her. When she asked about his leg, he said he had just cut it on way down. He didn't want her worrying anymore. He didn't mention anything about Raven, as he was debating whether to bring it up or not.

Eventually, they made it back to the hotel and flopped themselves on the bed. For a while they just laid there, exhausted after what happened.

"I know I shouldn't ask, but I don't suppose you saw my mum when you were down there?"

He thought about it for moment. Raven Branwen had disappointed him. He knew he'd be angry with her if they ever met, but he didn't realise he'd get this mad until finally knowing her. This was a woman who left her family without a word, based on some mysterious cause that she deemed more important than her own family.

Who knows, maybe she was right? Maybe she was protecting the world from some impending doom. But if so, why didn't she explain that to them? It didn't matter how noble she thought her actions were, they deserved to know.

And she thought she was doing them a favour by keeping it a secret? If she had known the truth, she would've eaten her words right there and then.

He looked to Yang, seeing the tired hope in her eyes. She deserved better than Raven. That woman didn't deserve the effort her daughter was going through to look for her. Yang would be doing herself a favour by forgetting everything about that woman.

And so, he made his decision.

"I'm sorry, it was just me down there."

She closed her eyes, a disappointed sigh escaping her lips. "Well, can't blame you for trying," she said. "I didn't really expect her to find her tonight anyway. Still, I just had to look, you know?" He nodded.

"Ah well, I've still got the next few nights. I might make some progress then."

"Yang," he said gently. The look on her face showed that she understood him. There was no point looking for her again. It just wasn't worth it.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she groaned. "I'm starting to think this whole thing was a mistake anyway."

"It wasn't a mistake. You just wanting to find your mum. What's so bad about that?"

She went quiet for a moment. She shifted slightly and looked up at the ceiling. She had a small smile on her face, but it was anything but happy.

"You know, for the longest time, I always thought it was me," she said weakly. "That the reason why she left was all my doing. I spent a lot of my childhood thinking it was somehow my fault. I still don't know what I did wrong though."

He pulled her close to him, their foreheads touching each other. "Don't you ever think you did something wrong," he said firmly. "Her running away is her own shitty business, not yours. Never think you were in any way responsible for her mistakes."

She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You always know what to say, huh?" she giggled. She didn't stop there though, and started to straddle him. She leaned down and started to kiss his neck.

"I can think of other ways you can cheer me up," she said in a sensual manner.

"Maybe not tonight, Yang," he said. The mood didn't feel right.

"Aww, come one," she giggled, grinding her hips into his. "Don't tell me I'm losing my touch?"

He responded by bringing her back down to face him again. He hugged her tight, and made room for her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Ooh, is this you taking charge? I could get used to this."

"I love you, Yang," he said. "And I promise you, I am never going to leave your side."

Silence filled the room, the only noise heard was the sound of the two breathing. He could feel Yang trembling in his arms, and her slow breathing on his neck. He then felt her arms grip his back, pulling him closer to her.

"You mean that?"

"Every word."

"Then hold me tighter."

He did exactly that, holding her tight to him for the entire night. She did the same, probably even harder, not wanting to give even an inch of space between them. There was nothing separating the pair. All they had was themselves.

He didn't permit himself to sleep until she had stopped crying into his shoulder.

* * *

 **Fin.**

 **Yeah, I brought Summer back again with my mythical author powers, mostly cause I enjoyed writing her last time.**

 **Raven's a tricky one to write for. I wanted to make her a lot more conflicted with her decisions, rather than be a douchebag parent who doesn't give a toss about Yang, like how most stories show her to be. Admittedly, we don't know enough about her character to understand her, hence why it was difficult to write a convincing enough argument as to why she left, but I like to belive she's a little more three dimensional than what some people believe.**

 **Finally, I see some people asking if the characters will meet Jaune's family, or if they will get married, to which I say no. Sorry, but that's not what this story is about. I might write something like that in the future, but I can't say for certain.**

 **Oh, and thank you to DragonManMax for pointing out my typo in the last chapter, I'll be sure to correct it soon ;)**

 **Anyway, Team RWBY is done. Onto Team JNPR. As always, thank you all for your continued support.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter of Meet the Family.**

 **You know, for a while I was wondering how I could possibly portray a belivebale Jaune x Nora fic, mostly because 90% of her screen time is revolved around Ren. It felt weird writing something with just the two of them, and even weirder having them be in a relationship. Even though I'm not a shipper, some things still feel odd to write.**

 **Still, I reckon I've done a good enough job with this one. I've taken a slightly different approach with meeting Nora's family, as you'll soon see. I'm sure the change of pace will be interesting for you.**

 **Oh, and I've fixed the chapter titles in the previous chapters. That was embarrassing XD**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Nora's Arc**

* * *

Despite her boisterous personality and her tendencies to be a blabbermouth, Nora Valkyrie rarely ever talked about herself.

For example, if you were to get into a conversation with her, chances are she'd talk about her weapon, strange dreams she might have had, or something completely nonsensical. More often than not, she'd talk about her childhood friend Ren and what a great guy he was, or at least something along those lines.

Nora generally kept her personal information to herself. She never talked about where she grew up, what her childhood was like or even who her parents were. It probably wasn't because nobody was interested in knowing, they were probably just wrapped up in her personality and antics to even think about asking.

But Jaune wasn't a stranger or a simple acquaintance to Nora. He was her friend and leader. He wanted to know her better. He thought about asking Ren about her past, but he wanted to hear her story from her lips.

The first time he asked her anything about her past, she immediately laughed it off. Claiming that there was nothing interesting about her childhood and that he shouldn't worry himself about it. That wasn't good enough. He wasn't gonna spend four years in Beacon knowing hardly anything about his teammate.

He certainly didn't force her to tell him anything, but he did try to subtly get her to mention something every now and then. Not once did he get a bit of information out of her. To Nora's credit, she could be a real closed book when she wanted.

He did ask Ren for advice to get her to open up a bit, but even he admitted he didn't really know what to say. He figured she would tell him when she's ready, and if she was being cagey about her past, it probably wasn't his place to reveal anything.

It was only when Nora suffered a critical injury during a Grimm fight did he manage to learn anything. She had been bitten by a King Taijitu and it's venom had put her in the hospital. The doctors said she would live, but that didn't stop Team JNPR fearing for her wellbeing.

On their first visit seeing her in the hospital, Jaune had volunteered to call Nora's parents to tell her of her condition. Nora had firmly told him not to do that, but he wouldn't have it. They deserved to know of their daughter's condition. This kept bouncing back and forth until Nora finally told him that her family was dead.

That had been a tough pill to swallow.

From then on, Nora became more open with Jaune about her life each time he visited her privately in the hospital. She told him how she lived on the streets from a very early age, and likely would have died if it hadn't been for Ren's kindness.

It was just as well those visits were private, as Nora would be caught dead before anyone saw her cry.

It was during that time that Jaune discovered that behind that bubbly personality was a girl who never got the chance to have a happy childhood. Nora never spoke of the past because it hurt too much to remember.

Jaune devoted much of his time after that to helping her recover. She insisted that she had accepted it long ago, but he still did his bit to help. Three months passed and Jaune had successfully steered Nora on the right path to recovery. He was careful not to coddle the girl, but he wanted to make sure that she was still feeling alright.

And somewhere along the line, Nora had asked him out.

It had been a surprising offer for him, but not at all an unwelcome. There was no denying that the two had gotten closer after all this. He said yes without giving it much thought, and he received the most crushing hug he had ever felt in his life from her.

Jaune Arc had become Nora Valkyrie's boyfriend...

… and just about every boy in Beacon pitied him for it.

[/]

The sea breeze had him shivering so hard, he swore he could hear his bones rattle inside him.

Nora had warned him that where they were going was gonna be cold, so he had brought his warmest winter coat with him. Not that it made a difference, as the cold past through the material without care. He doubted winter's in Atlas could be this cold. It was a wonder how the water they were sailing on wasn't completely frozen over.

They were currently on a boat to Nora's homeland. Apparently it was just north of Mistral, but not quite heading into the territory of Atlas. It was it's own secluded little area. She didn't blame him for not hearing of it before.

He had gone outside to get some fresh air - motion sickness didn't give a shit of how slow something was moving - but he was quickly regretting that decision, as he was starting to lose feeling in his fingers.

He headed back inside to where Nora was. She was wearing simple winter gear underneath a thick fur cloak. Apparently that's all she needed. Though to be fair, that cloak looked incredibly warm. He'd have to ask the cabin crew if they had any to spare.

"Feeling seasick already, sailor?" she cackled.

"I dunno what's gonna kill me first," he groaned. "The cold or my motion sickness."

"Keep it together, Jauney, we're nearly there now. And come on, it can't be _that_ bad outside."

"That's easy to say when you're dressed like that!" He pointed to her cloak.

She rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm just wearing this because it looks cool. I could to this trip in shorts and I barely feel a breeze."

"This is why people call you crazy."

"Only because they can't match my awesomeness." She eyed him up mischievously. "Well, if you're so cold, come sit next to me. I'll warm you up~"

The offer might have been interpreted as sexual, but in Jaune's case, he really was too damn cold. He sat down next to her, causing her to sit on his lap and throw her arms around his neck.

"That doing anything for 'ya?" she giggled, leaning into his chest.

It actually was, oddly enough. He could feel the heat radiating off her, causing him to hold her tightly. It was gonna be difficult for him to let her go and step outside again.

"I don't know how you can be so chilled about this weather," he chattered. "You must have borrowed Yang's Semblance for the day."

"Pfft, I don't need any charity to help me get by," she scoffed. "I'm just used to the weather by now. If anything, everywhere else in the world is too warm for me. Why do you think I'm always wearing short-sleeved shirts and skirts?"

Huh, he had never really thought about that before. She always did wear summer clothes, even when it was raining. Apparently it wasn't to show off her muscles and figure like he originally thought."

"Point taken," he said. "I just don't understand how you can adapt to it so quickly. I mean, it's not like you come here often."

"That's a Valkyrie for you," she winked. "Besides… who says I don't come here often?"

Damn it, that was probably a stupid thing to say. Despite her family being dead, this was still her homeland. Of course she would visit it often.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said-" he began to mumble. He was cut off when she kissed his cheek.

"It's fine, Jaune. I know you didn't mean it to be rude," she giggled. "But you have a point, it's not like I'm here everyday. But I do try to come back here as often I can. It just feels right, you know?"

She held onto him tighter when she said that. It was weird to be embraced by her and not lose a few ribs in the process. That's how you knew she was being serious.

"You still miss them, don't you?" he said softly.

She flicked his nose. "Dummy, of course I do. And I'm gonna keep missing them until they day I die. But don't you worry, I'm not gonna start getting mopey around you."

"I know you won't." She could handle anything. "But still, if you wanna feel sad, just know that I'm here for you."

"Careful, I'm known to get clingy when I am." She emphasised the point by huddling in closer to him. "If I start to feel down, I might not want to let go."

"I wouldn't complain."

She actually blushed a little at that, before grinning and pinching one of his cheeks with enough force to hide her embarrassment.

"Look at you - starting to put the 'fearless' in 'fearless leader'" she smirked.

"I better be fearless if I'm gonna put up with you."

"Oh, don't pretend you don't have fun around me."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. She snuggled a little closer into him and he rested his head atop her orange hair. True, half the stuff she did could've gotten him killed if it hadn't been for aura and sheer luck, but at the end of the day, he wouldn't trade her for the world. That was probably how Ren thought too.

Speaking of…

"You know, I'm surprised Ren isn't here with us," he said. "He's practically family to you, isn't he?"

"He's done this journey before," she said. "I don't expect anyone to accompany me twice. This is my responsibility, not anyone else's."

"I guess that's fair enough. But you know I'd come with you again if you asked me to, right?"

"Easy there, scraggly. You don't even know what it's gonna be like yet."

"No, but I also wouldn't want my girlfriend traveling out on her own."

She laughed wholeheartedly at that. "What's the matter? Worried that the lady can't look after herself?" She let her body flop and rested the back of her hand on her forehead. "Oh dear, where is my knight? Somebody save me from the Grimm," she wailed sarcastically, pretending to be a damsel in distress.

"Well excuse me for being worried about you," he pouted. She laughed at his reaction and nuzzled against his neck.

"If anything, I should be the one worried about you," she giggled. "I've seen your arms. You've got a long way to go if you're gonna reach my level of muscle."

She squeezed his arm to prove her point.

"Hey, that's not fair," he stammered. "You have to carry a massive warhammer. Of course you're stronger than me."

"Excuses, excuses," she tutted. "I don't know how Pyrrha's been training you, but it's clearly not good enough. A week of training with me, and I'll have you looking like a walking thunder cloud."

"Probably wouldn't be able to fit in the hoodie, though," he muttered. He cherished that hoodie and wore it with pride every day. He had made Pumpkin Pete and his dentist a lot of money in trying to win it, after all.

"Well, there's that," she purred, circling a finger around his chest. "Mind you, I've always thought you looked better with it off~"

He blushed furiously at the comment. He still found it odd that anyone would be interested in seeing him that way. It felt only days ago that he was doing everything in his power to win Weiss' affection. Now he was in a loving relationship with Beacon's craziest powerhouse.

Fate had a funny way of showing kindness.

Her flirt gave him the confidence to lean down and kiss her. Even though Nora was an absolute beast on the battlefield, she was surprisingly gentle in her affection. The kiss was soft and lingering, with him rubbing her back and her running her fingers through his hair.

They're cabin door then opened to reveal one of the sailors taking them to the island.

"Miss Valkyrie, we're approaching-" he stopped when he saw what they were doing. Jaune looked at him embarrassed, whilst Nora didn't seem bothered at all. "Um, am I interrupting something?"

"Not really," Nora said happily. "What is it?"

"I was just gonna say we're approaching our destination now. You might want to prepare for landing."

"Aye, aye," Nora laughed, jumping off of Jaune's lap. His body suddenly felt fifty percent colder. "You heard the man, Jaune. Let's go."

Before stepping off the boat, Jaune quickly asked around if they had anymore fur cloaks on board. To his luck, they had a spare that was just about his size. The difference it made was incredible. He was still a little cold, but at least he wasn't shaking like a madman anymore.

The boat docked on an icy landscape, snow falling all around them. The mist that covered the land was so thick that he could barely see in front of him. Luckily for him, Nora didn't see this as a problem. She walked in front of him and gestured him to follow.

"Just follow my lead," she said. "Trust me, I've done this trip enough times to know where I'm going."

He sure hope she did. Although he didn't like to admit it, the sight of that blizzard scared him. If they got lost, he doubted anyone would be there to help them. The land looked simply too hostile for there to be any residents. If they got hurt, they were on their own.

But he trusted Nora, as crazy as that might sound. Despite her wild antics, she was far from stupid. She wasn't gonna do anything that she knew would kill her. If she knew that she could travel through this blizzard unharmed then she would. He knew she would keep him and herself safe.

They set off into the mist, with him tagging close behind her. He had made it this far with her, so there was no turning back now.

[/]

They had probably been walking for about ten minutes, but it felt like hours since they started.

The snow was a pain to walk in. It made him feel like he was walking with an iron ball chained to his ankle. Each step exhausted him as he trudged through the bitter cold surface. He only had his sneakers covering his shoes, which did nothing to protect him from the snow getting in and melting under his foot. His feet were soaked, which only made trying to walk even harder.

And people complained that sand got everywhere. Snow was another monster altogether.

The mist wasn't getting any thinner as they went on. It felt like he was being closed in by a thick, grey wall. Everywhere he looked he just saw grey. Grey to the left, grey to the right, grey looking forward. The boat they had arrived on had long disappeared, hidden behind the mist as soon as they took a few steps.

It didn't take much to scare Jaune, but he was thankful that claustrophobia wasn't one of his fears.

The wind didn't help either. It pushed him back with enough force to almost send him falling over himself. It made opening his eyes difficult, though that hardly made a difference with all the bloody mist everywhere. It howled all around him, as if nature itself was screaming at him to turn back.

Had he been a weaker man, he might have done so.

But he wouldn't allow himself to be, for he had a reason to face this storm. And that reason was faring far better than he was.

Nora Valkyrie walked with her head held high against the elements. Her gaze was locked forward, undeterred by the relentless forces of nature. She walked with stride and purpose, marching through the snow as if it wasn't even there. He didn't know if he had ever seen her look so determined before.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" he shouted over the wind.

"Trust me, if I didn't, I would've died the first time," she called back. "We just gotta keep moving forward. Won't be long now."

While that was a little comforting, Jaune didn't really know what to expect when they arrived. Would there be anywhere to shelter from the storm? Would it be any safer compared to what they were dealing with now? Could he at least dry his feet when they arrived?

He got so distracted by his thoughts, that he didn't notice the rock he was walking towards. He ended up tripping on the thing and landing face first in the snow. The bitter cold substance covered his face and sneaked down his clothes. The fur cloak didn't help with this one, as he felt the worst chill he had ever felt in his life. His body cringed up from the cold and his face felt numb.

"Jaune!" Nora cried, rushing to his aid. "Are you alright?"

"F-Fine," he chattered, his teeth practically vibrating in his mouth. "Just s-slipped up, that's a-all."

She put her warm hands on his face. He didn't know how she managed her body temperature the way she did. "God, you're freezing," she gasped. "Hold tight to me, I'll keep you warm."

He slung his arm over her shoulders and leaned against her weight. She had no problem supporting him and the two set off again. Her body heat did make a difference, and he found himself able to use his legs again. She remained focused the entire time, moving forward with the same determination as before.

How many times had she done this journey? And how many of those times had she done it by herself? He didn't like the idea of her putting herself in harm's way, but she had to be admired for her courage. She treated the blizzard like it was nothing more than a mere inconvenience.

He would hate to see the thing made her scared…

"How… you know… where going?" he managed out. He felt like his tongue had frozen.

"You never forget this route," she responded back easily enough. "Not unless you wanna get lost."

And had she gotten lost before? It's probably why she remembered the route so well. It probably wasn't the right time to ask her that, though.

After another eternity of walking that was probably only ten minutes, the blizzard appeared to die down. Walking was made a little easier and the mist started to give way. They could finally see more than two feet in front of them.

"We're here," Nora grinned.

Jaune gasped at the sight before him. The mist had finally disappeared, giving them a clear view of their surroundings. They were standing on the edge of a cliff, surrounding by mountains that seemed to pierce the sky. An aurora borealis hung in the sky above them, the green and purple lights lighting up the heavens. It was probably the first bit of light he had seen since setting out.

Looking down, he saw what looked to be the remains of a village. Half of it appeared to be covered by snow, but it was difficult to tell from the height they were at. All he could tell was that it was large and almost certainly abandoned, judging from how there were no lights below him.

"This is the easy bit," she said. "We just gotta make our way down and then it's smooth sailing."

Making their way down off the side of a cliff. Yeah… totally easy. Thankfully, Nora knew a safe route on how to get down. She seemed to have a safe route for every bit of this journey. Had this been at Beacon, she probably would have recommended jumping down and letting the wind guide his fall.

Mind you, there was certainly enough wind to spare where they were.

They made their way down easily enough, and Jaune got a closer look at the village they were approaching. The buildings appeared to be made from stone and, just like he predicted, they were abandoned. Though that had less to do with the lights, and more of the fact that many of them were destroyed...

It was eerily quiet in the village. The only sounds made were from the two of them walking, and the occasional lump of snow falling off a roof. He couldn't even hear a bird flying overhead, or any other signs of life in the area. All that was there was the young couple and a village with no one home.

"Jaune Arc, welcome to Ragnard," Nora announced, sounding a little glum than usual.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was her home, or what was left of it, anyway. Whatever destroyed this village happened a long time ago, as nature appeared to be reclaiming what was left off the land.

"What happened here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Grimm? Bandits? Other? I dunno, I was too young to remember. All I remember was running and not looking back. I think that's better, really."

They past through the village square. Abandoned possessions littered the street; food, bags, even the occasional weapon. A fountain stood in the centre of the square, the water inside completely frozen over.

Most of the buildings were destroyed, but some remained relatively intact. It was difficult to say what destroyed them, as the snow covered most of the debris. If he did some exploring, he might've been able to guess the cause, but this place was eerie enough as it was. He decided that staying close to Nora was better.

"How young were you? You know, when this all…" Argh, he couldn't say it without feeling stupid. Was he seriously asking her to remember how old she was when her home was destroyed? And people thought she had a big mouth…

"Pretty young," she sighed. "Young enough to not be able to fight. Although if I was, I probably would've joined the rest." She kicked some of the snow in front of her. "No, I was just a kid when this all happened. I could only run and just pray whatever attacked didn't follow me."

"So you ran through that snowstorm when you were just a kid?" His teeth chattered at the memory.

"It was a little clearer the first time I did it," she giggled. "But yeah, I guess I did. When you're running for your life, you don't really plan that far ahead. Hell, when you're a kid, you never do."

God, did everyone have a shitty childhood except for him? Ruby lost her mother, whilst Yang lost two. Weiss lived most of her life under her father's thumb. Blake had one been a part of the White Fang. Pyrrha had practically no friends until Beacon. Ren also had his life pulled under him after an attack, and now this…

It felt like only yesterday when the most he had to complain about as a kid was wanting to be a hunter. Solomon Arc didn't like the idea about training him, causing Jaune to whine at him for years. Perhaps he was just trying to avoid him getting involved in stuff like this?

"I don't know if anyone else survived," she said softly. "I didn't see anyone follow me. I'm pretty sure I'm the sole survivor." She groaned. "Lucky me, I guess."

He squeezed her hand. "Don't say that like it's a bad thing," he said. "You mean so much to all of us, especially me."

She giggled at the praise. "Don't worry, I'm hardly gonna end it over a little survivor's guilt. It's just… sometimes I think a little too much. This place just brings it out in me."

"And are you sure you wanna keep going?"

She shrugged again. "We're here now, aint we? Besides, it's kinda tradition for me to come here. I'm not about to break it now."

They kept walking until they stopped in front of one of the more intact houses. It had a few holes in the roof, but nothing that would send it collapsing to the ground. It was rather large, at least two stories, and stood near the edge of the village.

Nora walked up to the front door and started looking for something in her pocket. After a brief moment of looking, she pulled out a key…

Oh…

The key fit perfectly in the lock and the door clicked open. She walked on inside and called back to him to follow her.

[/]

The house inside was cold, not that he expected anything else. The furniture was neatly arranged and the whole place looked well looked after. A little strange for house in a village that had been attacked. Nora had disappeared into the house, leaving him to look around.

He found his way into the living room, the place looking equally as tidy as the rest of the house. A few leather chairs, a bookcase, a tv and a few pictures decorated the room. He looked at the pictures hanging up on the wall. Many were of the scenery in the village, but some had people in it. More specifically, three people - a girl and her parents.

The father was a huge man with a bushy beard and a happy smile, whilst the mother was a smaller but still fierce looking woman. They were standing in front the fountain in the village, the little girl grinning beside the pair.

They each shared the same shade of orange hair…

So, those two must have been her parents… they looked like good people. He wished he could've gotten the chance to meet them, even if the dad looked like he'd chop him in half. Hell, the mother looked capable of that, too.

He felt like he should've said something to the photograph; he wanted to tell the image of the parents that their daughter was in good hands. He decided against it though, for his words would be meaningless.

To pay his respects, he straighten the photo a little and wiped off whatever dust was on it. It was the least he could do, right? He'd probably want the same kind of treatment.

He found Nora in what was probably the dining room, judging from the large wooden table in the room. She was beginning to light the large fireplace in the room, when she caught him looking around.

"Like what I've done with the place?" she grinned. "Yeah, I like to keep the house tidy every time I come back."

"I'm surprised you bothered to even lock the door," he said. It was unlikely that there were any thieves in the area.

"Meh, I still like to feel like someone's still living here. Makes it seem less empty, know what I mean?" She clapped her hands together once the fire started to grow. "Anyway, want anything to eat? There's some spare food in the pantry."

"Even after all this time?"

"I always restock when I come back," she laughed. "It's only canned stuff, but it'll keep us fed."

They ended up eating canned beans and chicken. He didn't realise how hungry he was until he started tucking into his meal. The walk had drained him more than he realised. The two ended up getting seconds and sat by the fire to warm up more. She sat with her head on his shoulder and he brought her closer to his side.

For a while they didn't say anything, almost falling asleep to the sound of the crackling fire. Usually it was her that was the first to speak up, but she was unusually quiet during the trip. It was only unusual in the sense that she was usually the life of a conversation. He decided to be the first to speak this time.

"You know, you've done a great job of looking after the place," he said in an attempt to start conversation. "If I didn't know better, I'd say there was still someone living here."

"I try my best," she sniffed. "Ren was always better at tidying up then I was. Breaking things is more my forte."

"Can't argue with that," he laughed. The amount of things that got destroyed under her hammer was uncountable. "Mind you, you said you brought Ren here once. Maybe he did all the cleaning and you're just lying to me."

"Hey, this is all my handiwork," she whinged. "Even I know better than to let my house get messy."

"Alright, I believe you," he laughed. He ruffled her hair as a way of saying sorry. "What was it like living here anyway?"

"Kinda quiet, if I'm being honest," she said. "We're pretty far away from neighbouring villages, so we just kinda kept to ourselves. It was nice, though. Everything felt homely." She gave a deep sigh. "Then it all went wrong."

Silence filled the room for a while. The sound of the fire crackling was the only noise being made.

"My memory is a little fuzzy," she continued quietly. "I remember seeing everyone running, trying to get away from whatever was happening. I very nearly got trampled over the wave of people at one point. It all still feels like a dream."

"Everything was burning. I'd never seen fire that big before, never felt anything that hot before. It was all around us, burning everything we knew to the ground. That was when I saw my first explosion, too." She laughed a little at the memory. "I remember being knocked back by it. It felt like I just got punched by a heatwave. Who'd I would end up relying on them as I got older? Gotta respect their power, I guess."

She fidgeted a little against him. It must have been hard remembering what happened, but she carried on.

"I think the first thing I did was rush home in order to find my parents. But when I got there, no one was home. I searched everywhere in the house, but they weren't there. They were probably outside somewhere, but you couldn't tell over the sea of people…"

She bit her lip. "I never did find them in the end. I just ran when I couldn't find them in the house."

He squeezed her hand one he felt her start to shake. It was rare to see Nora so open about anything to someone. He almost didn't know what to say. How did you console someone who revealed something as heavy as that? He couldn't imagine how scare she must have been at the time.

"I think I saw a picture of your parents," he said softly. "They seemed like good people."

"Probably were. To tell you the truth, I barely remember them," she sighed. "My earliest memories of here were of me running to a boat and sailing far away, while my home burned behind. I sometimes have a hard time remembering their faces."

"Well, I made it to safety and found my way to Kuroyuri. That's where I met Ren, and the rest is history." She laughed bitterly. "And look what happened there, too. I mean this seriously, Beacon is the only place I've ever truly called home."

And Team JNPR were her family. And they would keep being that till the end of their days.

"Nora, I… I don't know what to say. I imagine you've heard it all before."

"Don't worry about it," she scoffed. "I'm not asking for a pity party. I just figured you deserve to know. Besides, feels good to share it with someone else."

"I take it Ren already knows?"

"Oh yeah, of course he does," she laughed. "There's nothing he doesn't know about me."

Yeah, considering what the pair had been through, that wasn't surprising. And speaking of Ren…

"You know, I think many of us thought you and Ren were together. But, like, together-together."

She laughed at the term she always used. "For a while, I kinda hoped we would be. He saved my life, looked after me, put up with my craziness… how could I not fall for him?"

"Then why didn't you go for it? He probably would've said yes."

"He might've done," she agreed. "But why ruin a good thing? If we dated and it didn't work out, it might've made things awkward between us. I'm not about to lose my closest friend. Not that it matters, though. I've got you to fill in the boyfriend part."

He rested his head atop of hers. "And I will for as long as you'll have me."

"Good, cause I wasn't kidding about whipping you into shape," she smirked. "Ren's already too thin for his own good. I won't let you go the same way."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Of course it is. How are you supposed to carry me on your shoulders into battle with a body like that? You'd collapse under the weight of Magnhild! I'd have to pick you up, which is a massive no-no."

And there it was, the same cheerful Nora he knew before. She had been talking about this battle formation from the moment she had started training him. She insisted that it would give them a tactical advantage, but really, she'd probably knock his head off with her hammer. Though he would try to make it work, if only to make her happy.

"So, good news first," she said. "The good news is that there's a spare bedroom that doesn't have a hole in the roof that we can use tonight."

Oh, so they were sleeping here tonight? He thought they were gonna head back to the boat whenever she was ready. Though, to be fair, it was probably safer to wait out the blizzard.

"Bad news - for you, at least - is that we're not done yet," she grinned. "Coming here is only a checkpoint. The final bit of the journey we'll complete tomorrow."

"You hear me complaining?"

"I will when I tell you where we're going. If you thought snow was a pain to walk through, try walking uphill against it."

That sounded… inconvenient.

"Guess we better get some rest then," he sighed. He wanted to prepare his feet for the frostbite to come.

"Atta boy, Jauney-Boy," she laughed. "Follow me, I'll show you the room." She slapped his rear when standing up and lead them upstairs. The stairs looked a bit weak, but they just about supported the weight of them. He wouldn't plan on using them often, though.

She lead him to a room down a hallway and they stepped inside. It was as neat as the rest of the house, and was decorated pink all over. The wallpaper was bright pink, and several stickers of unicorns and rainbows adorned it. The furniture had many princess dolls atop of them, each one with their own unique dress and accessories.

The bed was rather small, at least for someone his height, and was as pink as the rest of the room. The bedsheet had picture of a cartoon kitty, as did the pillows. It was cute, he'd give it that.

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, which he responded to with an embarrassed shrug.

"It was a phase," she grumbled.

[/]

Walking through blizzards, and now mountain climbing.

Nora certainly knew how to live.

She woke him the next morning telling him to grab a pair of hiking boots. Her dad kept a pair in his wardrobe, and thankfully they were his size. She told him that they would be hiking up a mountain to get to their final stop. Thankfully, it wasn't one of the big ones, but he knew it wasn't gonna be easy.

He asked her why they were doing this, and her response was a little cryptic at first.

" _You wanna meet my parents, don't you? Well, this is how we meet them."_

" _I thought you said you couldn't find your folks?"_

" _I didn't, but I made something to remember them by. I built it at the top of a mountain, sorta like they could watch over things._

" _You built something?"_

" _Yup. I can build, I can clean, I can break. I can do it all, baby. Now grab the boots, we gotta a long walk ahead._

At least she wasn't cryptic about the walk. It was long and hard, and going uphill didn't help either. The boots worked a lot better than his sneakers, but the aches in his legs were still present. This must've been why lots of people complained about 'leg day'. He never really understood that until now. He just thought all exercise was a nuisance.

The snow wasn't as heavy as what it was yesterday, but it still made things difficult. He didn't know if he would ever get used to this kind of weather. Maybe this was why Weiss was so miserable all the time. Atlas was famed for it's cold weather, so that meant a lot of snow. No wonder she hated being called 'Snow Angel'. There was nothing holy about the weather.

Much like before, Nora paid little mind to the weather. With her walking on ahead, she was able to pave a way for Jaune, which made walking a little easier.

"How are you keeping?" she called down to him.

"As long as you don't start kicking snow down, I'm good," he called back.

"Don't tempt me. I might start shouting loud enough to cause an avalanche~"

"I will pay you as anything not to do that."

"Fine, might slow me down anyway." Yeah, sure, that was her biggest concern. Her sense of humour ranged from funny to scary at times.

"How far is it, anyway?" He wasn't complaining, even if it might've sounded like he was. Although, if they were nearly there, he wouldn't complain.

"Probably just another twenty minutes. You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

"Is that supposed to be a pun?"

"I'll let you figure it out," she sang. Oh God, was she getting her humour from Yang? At this rate, he'd turn out as mad as her.

They kept hiking for a little while longer, when they felt the ground shake beneath their feet. Jaune nearly lost his footing, only being supported by the hiking stick that he had found with the boots. Some of the snow fell downhill and made trying to stay upright even more difficult.

"Nora?" he called up to her.

"Wasn't me," she called honestly. "I dunno what that was."

The ground trembled again, more violently this time. The snow shook all around them and even Nora had trouble standing straight. They looked all around them to see what was causing it, but to no avail.

It was only when they heard an ear-piercing caw, that they decided to look up at the sky.

Swooping over the head of the mountain was a giant Nevermore, it's body blocking the sun for a brief moment. The rush of wind as it passed overhead was so powerful, it had them tumbling down with snow falling after them.

Jaune tried to grip onto the grass for support, but his fingers went numb from the snow. He turned his head to see Nora tumble past him. Her arms were flailing out for anything to grab onto.

"Nora!" he shouted, reaching out for her in an attempt to a catch her. Unfortunately, he didn't have the reach to even touch her, and his attempt to grab her had him falling down with her.

They tumbled all the way back down to the summit and the snow landed on them, burying the pair underneath it. Jaune's body went into overdrive in trying to escape, lest he be trapped and freeze to death. He started hacking his way out with the hiking stick, cutting through the snow desperately. A lot of it fell into his eyes and mouth, chilling him even more, but he kept moving.

After this, he would be _so_ done with snow.

His head popped out and he gasped for breath. The chill of the wind didn't feel nearly as cold as what it was underneath that snow.

"Nora!" he shouted, hoping that she made it out safely. "Nora, can you hear me!?"

Snow exploded around him, flying at all angles. He shielded his face with his arms to protect himself from the substance. When he brought his arms down, he saw her standing proudly with Magnhild slung over her shoulder.

"Loud and clear, silly," she laughed. "You worry too much, you know that?"

He laughed nervously at her enthusiasm. "You brought Magnhild with you?"

She winked. "Never leave home without it. You never know when a Grimm might strike."

That actually made sense. He felt like an idiot not bringing Crocea Mors with him. Granted, he hadn't expected the day to turn out like this, but come on. He was a huntsman! His weapon should be practically glued to his hip!

Ah well, Nora was better with her weapon than he was with his, anyway. If anyone was gonna be fighting, it ought to be her. And besides, he doubted he'd even be able to wield his weapon with how numb his fingers were.

"Speaking of Grimm, how are we gonna take out that thing?" she pointed up to the sky to see the Nevermore circling them. "I dunno about you, but I don't wanna be around when that thing starts dropping feathers."

She had a good point. They were standing in very open ground. If they didn't find cover, they'd be sitting ducks.

"We gotta find a way to make it land," he said. "Try shooting it's wings. If we can get it on the ground, we'll have an easier time fighting it."

"Got it," she grinned, transforming Magnhild into its grenade launcher form. Those things weren't the most accurate of firearms, but as long as she could hit it, she could deal it some serious damage.

She started firing up at the sky, the grenades leaving a trail of pink smoke behind them. Jaune took cover behind the trees, just in case it started launching feathers. He didn't like the idea of hiding, but he was useless in his current state. It was better for him to get out of the way.

After several misses, a few struck their target. They heard it's scream all the way from down where they were. If they didn't kill it quickly, it's caw might cause another avalanche.

It wobbled about in the sky, before making its descent to the ground. He had to give her credit, she knew how to put her destructive potential to good use. She was already cheering at her good fortune of bringing down the beast.

But something was wrong. Looking closely, it seemed to be that Nevermore was aiming it's fall _towards_ them. Almost like it was…

"Nora, run!" he bellowed, realising the danger. "That thing's trying to charge use!"

"Oh, crap, that's not good." Even she had to recognise the danger they were in. They began sprinting through the snow as fast as they could, but it felt like the white substance was dragging them into the ground.

They felt the Nevermore getting closer to them. It's great shadow began developing their bodies, and they saw it stretch across the horizon. They heard the crashing of trees behind them. There was no way they were gonna be able to outrun this thing.

There had to be another way. If he didn't think of something fast, they we're gonna be bird food. Did Grimm even need food? Arh, don't think about that now. Think of a way to survive!

Okay, so they were already failing at outrunning it. Maybe there was a way to trick it, or hide from it. Then again, it probably would just hunt them down until it found them. Grimm were stubborn that way. No, they had to kill it, but it was just a matter of how…

An idea came to mind.

"Nora, do you trust me?"

"As far as I can throw you. Which is pretty far, actually-"

"Good, because we're gonna climb on this thing."

She turned and looked at him like he had grown a second head. "We're gonna ride the Nevermore? Are you being serious?"

"It'll be the only way we can finish it off," he panted. "When I say duck, hit the deck but grab onto it as it flies over us. Then we can hack away at it's body until it dies."

"You know, we could fall of this thing..."

"That's what our landing strategies are for, right?" he laughed in between taking huge breaths of air. Thankfully, he had perfected his landing strategy a long time ago. Nora was a very… effective teacher. Pyrrha was always waiting to catch him every time Nora threw him off a roof. "So, whaddaya say?"

She grinned maniacally. "Tell me when it's time for take off, Captain."

He knew she would say yes to something like this. She lived on thrills the same way humans relied on oxygen to survive.

The Nevermore cawed again as it got closer to them. He could almost feel it's hot breath down the back of his neck. In this weather, he normally would have welcomed any kind of heat, but this one spelled death for them if they weren't careful. He was just thankful it had chosen a more physical approach to hunting them, rather than just shoot them with feathers.

He turned behind him briefly and saw it's red eyes locked onto to his. Its beak was already trying to snap at them, and it began to raise its talons to snatch them up. From the way it blocked the sunlight with it's body, it was like starting at a giant flying shadow.

Now was probably a good time to act.

"Duck!" he bellowed as they both dropped to the ground, covering their hands over their heads. The talons just barely missed them, snatching up at thin air. Furious, the Nevermore began to make its ascent to try again at grabbing them, giving the pair the opening they needed.

Its tail dragged the ground slightly as it began flying upwards. The pair seized the opportunity by grabbing onto it and hanging on for dear life. Thank God it had thick feathers to hold onto, otherwise they would have fallen the moment it started undulating.

The wind in his face nearly took his breath away. He knew these things flew fast, but he never imagined he'd feel this kind of speed. It felt like his face was trying to fly off his head. He never really liked roller coasters, and this was probably as extreme as it got. He wondered if Ruby felt the same way when using her Semblance.

"This is awesome!" Nora cheered, already starting to climb the bird. Trust her to enjoy herself at a time like this. This was his plan and he was already hating it.

"We gotta get to its head," he screamed over the wind. "You gotta smash that thing with Magnhild."

If Nora heard him, she didn't respond. Mind you, she had enough sense to know where a Nevermore's weak spot was. Now it was just a case of getting there…

 _Don't look down, don't look down, DON'T LOOK DOWN!_

That one thought played on repeat in his mind, screaming at him to just keep going forward. He didn't even have the time to feel any motion sickness, though he might end up vomiting from the adrenaline. If this worked, he swore he would never, _ever,_ do this shit again.

The Nevermore must have sensed them on them and tried shaking them off. It dipped and twirled in the sky, cawing angrily in the process. Trying to hold on was becoming unbearable, and he nearly ended up losing his grip. He held onto its back with one hand and caught a glimpse of the world below them.

How high could this thing fly!? The mountains we're beginning to look like tiny specks on the ground. He didn't think he had a fear of heights before, but this fight was certainly helping with that. If he fell, he didn't know if a landing strategy could even help. Not unless the snow shielded his fall.

He tore his gaze away from the ground and looked up to see Nora. His girlfriend had made her way to its neck and was so close to it's head. He started climbing up to join her, as difficult as it was. She began raising Magnhild above her head, but turned back to look at him.

"Stay back," she shouted. "You might wanna hold onto something."

Before bringing the hammer down though, she pulled out something from her pocket. He could just barely make out what it was - a taser.

"What's that fo-" he never got the chance to finish his sentence as she jabbed the thing into her stomach.

She lit up like a christmas tree. Her whole body was glowing with energy and her hair was standing tall and spiky. The air around her began to crackle and spark from the energy she was producing. He actually had to shield his eyes for a moment.

When he looked back at her, her whole body was surging with electrical energy. Her eyes were glowing and sparks were emitting from her body. He could feel her power even all the way from where he was. At this moment, she looked like the living embodiment of electricity.

Despite the cold, it was her smile she sent him that had him shivering. "Brace yourself, Jauney Boy, cause it's time for emergency landing." She laughed like a maniac, before bringing her hammer down on the doomed bird's head.

An explosion of sparks lit up the sky. Lighting rained down from the Nevermore and hammered down on the earth below them. The noise of the electrical explosion was deafening, as if the heavens themselves were at war with each other.

Jaune had seen many explosions during his life as a hunter. Some he caused, some he just got caught up in. But none were as loud and felt as powerful as the one that just went off. It felt like it had the power to split an island in half.

 _I'm dating a walking nuke,_ he thought. He always knew that, he just never thought he'd live to see the boom.

He was left so spellbound by the explosion, he didn't realise he was rapidly falling through the air. The explosion must have sent him flying backwards, but he didn't have the sense to care. His sense of wonder hadn't worn off yet.

…

… Okay, the moment was gone. Now he could start screaming.

He flayed his arms and legs in the air with the grace of a drunk ballerina, screaming for whatever god existed to save him. He wasn't ready to become a stain on the ground just yet.

His prayers were answered by a ginger girl hurling herself towards him.

Nora was coming at him like a comet. Her Semblance was still in effect, as she used the last bit of her energy to reach out and save him. She left a blue streak of electricity behind her as she dive bombed through the sky.

When he was in reach, she pulled him into a bridal carry position and aimed her descent towards the top of one of the mountains.

"Hold on tight," she laughed, to which he gladly did so. They were rapidly approaching the ground and Jaune prayed she had a good enough landing strategy to support the both of them.

They hit the ground with enough force to send cause a shockwave around them. The snow around them went flying and the earth cracked underneath their feet. Even a few trees nearby shook from the power of their landing.

Jaune had his eyes covered during the fall, and when he opened them again, he saw they had left a small crater in the earth. He looked up at his savour, seeing her smug smile gazing down on him.

"Thank you for flying with Valkyrie Airlines," she beamed. "Please exit the vehicle now." She finished the last bit by dropping him into the snow.

"Nora," he began whilst coughing up snow. "Next time I suggest something like that again… hit me with Magnhild to knock some sense into me."

"Are you kidding me!? That was awesome!" She was still buzzing from the rush of the battle. "It's no wonder you're our leader with plans like that. Next time, we gotta do this with the whole team."

"They'd probably mutiny if I told them to do that," he laughed. He dusted himself off and looked around. They had landed on a mountain top that seemed to overlook most of the island. He could even see Ragnard in the distance, albeit faintly.

Now he just had to think about how they were gonna get back down. He didn't want to risk fighting another Nevermore right now, as they were prime targets at such a height. Plus, he really didn't feel like going for an airborne rodeo again.

"No way," he heard Nora gasp. "I know where we are!"

"You do?" He knew she had good knowledge of the land, but he didn't know it was that good. "How can you tell?"

"Look behind you."

Jaune turned to see what she was talking about. Standing at about average height were two stone statues of a man and a woman. The rock had been delicately chipped away at - almost expertly, even - to show the stone forms of a very muscular man carrying a battleaxe, and a woman with a bow in her hand.

Every detail had been paid close attention too, from the bushiness of the man's beard, to the wild look in the woman's eyes. Whoever had made these statues was clearly passionate about their work. They stood stood facing over the edge of the mountain, looking down on the land below.

It took him about to seconds to recognize who they were.

"Jaune Arc, say hello to Mama and Papa Valkyrie," she cheered. "I know they've been looking forward to seeing you."

Jaune approached the statues, slightly in awe of the work put into them. They looked like pieces of art from where he was standing. The sculptor had made them look as powerful as what they probably were when they were alive.

Suddenly, he remembered why they came out here today. The fight with the Nevermore had kinda threw him out of a loop, but now he remembered why they had climbed the mountain to being with.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" he looked back to his beaming girlfriend. "You mean to tell me you made these?"

"With my own two hands," she said triumphantly. "You have no idea how much of a pain it was carrying stone up here."

Jaune stepped closer to the statutes. He was almost afraid to touch them, they were so impressive. "Nora, I… these are incredible," he marveled. She really was a woman of many talents.

She blushed under the praise. "Well, I mean, I think I did a good job," she giggled. "I probably made Dad's beard too long, and Mom had actually never used a bow in her life. I just thought it would look cool."

"Even still, these are fantastic." He turned round to her beaming. "I just know that they would've loved these."

She squirmed a little in her spot. "Hehe, it feels weird someone else complimenting me on my work." she said slightly embarrassed. "Can't say I'm used to it."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, no, it feels nice. I… did put a lot of effort into it." She walked to his side to stare at the statues. She looked at them with a smile on her face. "Y'know, I can tell they would've approved of you."

"I hope so," he laughed. "They'd probably kill me if they didn't."

"Nah, they were pretty chilled about things." She walked past him and rested her hand on the statue of her father. "I don't miss them as much as what I probably should," she continued. "Maybe it was because I was too young to remember everything, but I like to think it's because of this place. Coming here makes me feel more in touch with them, if you know what I mean."

He understood. Ruby had once told him how often she visited her mother's grave and talked to it. Some might have seen it as creepy, but really, it was just a way of keeping her memory alive.

"Hell, sometimes I forget that they're even dead at all," she laughed. "They might be physically dead, but the way I see it, having these things here helps them live on. It just goes to show that you can't keep a Valkyrie down forever."

One thing he loved about her was her optimism. Even after everything she had been through, she still had the strength to carry on smiling.

"You know, they could still be alive," he said gently. She did say she never found them that night, after all. "They might still be out there, looking for you."

She shook her head sadly. "I doubt it," she sighed. "It's just been too long. It's better to just face facts than to hold on hold on to hope for too long. I mean, it'd be nice to know if they're still alive, but I'm not exactly holding my breath."

That was fair enough. He'd probably act the same way. Besides, she looked at peace with the fact that they were probably gone. If she thought they might still be alive, she'd scour all of Remnant looking for them. She wasn't the type to just wait by the window.

She stood by his side once again and took her hand in his. The sun broke through the clouds, shining down on the mountain top. They stood in the shadows of the statues, looking at them with respect. Needless to say, Jaune felt it was worth facing the cold to see the sight before him.

"Thanks for coming with me," she said softly to him.

"No problem," he said. "So, when's the next time we're coming here? I plan to dress a lot warmer next time around." And at the very least bring his sword with him.

She smiled sweetly at him and gently tapped his nose with her index finger.

"Boop."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I was a little worried I was writing Nora a little ooc for a while, though that might be due to the fact that most fics (and the show) portray her as shouting weird stuff about sloths and pancakes. Thankfully, V4 did show she could be serious when the situation calls for it, so I decided to work a little off of that.**

 **Up next will be Pyrrha's chapter, and yes, it will be a light hearted romance. I'm not gonna pull another 'Heartstrings' on you, as I don't like using the same twist twice xD. In fact, I'll probably include my reason for writing it the way it was in the next chapter. Trust me, it wasn't because I wanted to do something as simple as troll you guys.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I guess I kinda owe everyone this after Power is Red, Heartstrings and Wolf to the Slaughter, don't I? XD**

 **Yes, here we are, the chapter for probably the most popular pairing in the show. I've made it extra longer for the heartbreak I've caused and the amount I intend to cause in the future. As such, please enjoy this for what it's worth.**

 **I've had a reviewer telling me I should probably wait until V5 comes out before writing this, as we'll likely meet Pyrrha's parents during then. I've decided against that, simply because I don't want to wait around for something that might not even happen. As such, I will be using my PIR OC's for this story. If that annoys anyone, then I'm sorry, but that's just how it is.**

 **Finally, son of a gun, we've reached over 300 followers with this? I can't thank you all enough for this, especially with the wonky upload schedule. This all means so much to me, and I thank you all for it. I've read all of the reviews, and I notice most people are saying my Lancaster chapter is probably the weakest.**

 **And I completely agree. Back then, I was a little unsure of what direction I was gonna take this story and tired to limit myself with what I could do. These days I'm a lot more confident with my writing, and as such, I will be re-writing the Lancaster chapter. Not right now, but one day. It'll replace the original, but if anyone still wants the original chapter, PM me and I'll send you it.**

 **Please enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - Arkos**

* * *

 _Jaune must have misheard her. There was no other explanation for it._

" _A-Are you serious?"_

 _She sighed. "Jaune, is it really that hard to believe?"_

 _Was that a joke? Of course it was hard to believe! How had they even started talking about this?_

 _One minute they were having their usual sparring matches, and then he decided to whine about how he couldn't win Weiss over. Pyrrha had advice for practically everything, so he figured she would help him in dealing with the heiress._

 _But that's not what happened. Instead, she told him to give up on his pursuit for Weiss' affection._

 _He had been surprised and a little hurt when she said that. She had never discouraged him for following his dreams before. He asked her why, and she said because it was a waste of time. Weiss would probably never return his feelings, and he'd only hurt himself if he kept trying._

 _That had been really depressing to hear, but didn't stop there. She said that if he stopped following Weiss, he'd have more time to pay attention to the girls who actually were interested in him._

 _Girls like her, apparently…_

" _But, I… I don't understand."_

" _I honestly don't know how I can be anymore clear." She studied the confused boy and sighed again. "Okay, fine. I, Pyrrha Nikos, would like to go out with you, Jaune Arc."_

 _Yeah, that sounded like what she had said before. He was at least ninety percent sure now that this wasn't a hallucination born from exhaustion and teenage angst. Although, that only made the situation even more confusing to comprehend._

" _... Why?"_

 _She rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? What do you mean why?"_

" _I mean, why would you of all people wanna date me? I mean, come on. Don't you think you're a little out of my league?"_

" _Isn't that up for me to decide?"_

" _But your Pyrrha Nikos!" Did he have to be the one to remind her of that? "You're the Champion of Mistral, and probably the strongest student in Beacon-"_

" _Stop."_

" _But it's true! People like me don't belong with girls like-"_

" _Stop it!" she snapped. Her emerald eyes flared with anger. "You're the first person in forever to not put me on a pedestal. Don't you dare start doing it now!"_

 _Jaune backed away in surprise. He had never seen his partner look so angry before. He didn't think it was even in her nature to get cross._

" _I'm not trying to," he said slowly. He didn't want to annoy her even more. She was already a one woman army when she was calm. "I'm just putting things into perspective. Why would you want to date someone like me? I do not exaggerate when I say that you can do better."_

 _She groaned and rolled her eyes at him again. "You know what, Jaune? You're right, I probably could do better. I've already got enough admirers as it is, even before coming to Beacon. I'm sure most boys would leap at the chance to date me, and I'm sure some of them are probably stronger and more handsome than you." She shrugged her shoulders. "So what?"_

 _So what? She just listed every reason why she should do better. It was no secret that she was one of the most desired girls in Beacon. Why wouldn't she wanna try aiming higher?_

" _I just wanna know why," he said. "Of all the guys in Beacon, why me? Why would you pick me over guys like that?"_

 _She laughed bitterly. "You honestly don't know, do you?"_

 _Know what? Damn it, why was she being so mysterious?_

 _She grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him to eye level. "Do you know what I see whenever I see those strong and handsome boys look at me?" Her lips were snarling with every word said. "I see them staring at the Invincible Girl, or the Champion of Mistral. Not Pyrrha Nikos. Never Pyrrha Nikos! I'm a title first and a person second!"_

 _Her grip on his shoulders tightened. Damn, had she always been holding back when they were training?_

" _Most people look at me with awe, like they can't even approach me," she continued. "Others see me as a tool, a way for them to boost their social status or to make them money. You know, people trying to ride my fame." She was starting to tremble on the spot. "And then there are those who look at me like I'm a piece of meat, something to be drooled and lusted over. It makes me sick!"_

 _She let go of him and walked a small distance away from him, turning her back to him in the process. Her shoulders sagged and she looked down at the ground._

" _You're the first person in a long time to look at me and see… well, me," she said softly. "I never have to put on act for you. I can feel totally relaxed and be myself around you." She laughed again, although this time her tone was happier. "Do you have any idea how good that feels?"_

" _So there you are. That's why I want to date you, Jaune," she said, looking back at him. "Those boys may make me feel special, but you're the only one who makes me feel normal."_

 _Jaune blinked slowly, stunned at his partner's words._

 _Pyrrha never did talk about her life as celebrity before, not that he ever cared to ask. Was this the reason why? Sheesh, to think he left for Beacon to escape his normal life. She probably would've swapped her life for his in a heartbeat._

 _But that wasn't what stood out in his head. His partner just confessed her attraction for him…_

 _That was… how was he supposed to respond to that?_

 _They were just friends, weren't they? That's not to say Pyrrha wasn't attractive herself - on the contrary, his partner was gorgeous - but he never really thought about her in that way._

 _Maybe it was because of his respect for her, or that they were the best of friends, or maybe it was just the fact that she had never gave any clue of her affection for him. Or maybe she had, and he just didn't realise it before, although he would've thought he'd remember his partner flirting with him._

" _How long?" he asked._

" _How long?"_

" _How long have you felt this way about me?"_

 _Her face concentrated for a moment. "I guess it started a few weeks after initiation. I had already made plans to partner up with you when we first met, but the more we got to know each other, the more my feelings for you grew."_

" _It's been that long?" That sounded way too long for what was probably a crush._

" _I admit, I'm not the best at revealing these things," she laughed. "Perhaps I should've taken a page out of your book, with how you were with Weiss."_

 _The joke went over his head. His mind was running circles right now._

" _So why now? Why are you telling me this now?"_

" _Because I can't take it anymore," she groaned. "I'm sick of watching you chase after Weiss, when she's clearly not interested in you. It's a wasted effort on your part, and it's frustrating for me to watch. Call me selfish, but I want that kind of attention you give her directed at me. At least I'm actually attracted to you."_

 _There it was again. His partner was attracted to him. No lie, no teasing flirt, she genuinely wanted to be his girlfriend._

" _The dance is coming up soon," she continued, "so I figured now would be as good a time as any to tell you how I feel. I was also rather hoping we could go together?"_

 _That sounded like a date if he ever did hear one. The first date he had ever been offered with a girl. He had sometimes imagined how he would act if he ever got asked on one. He thought he'd be buzzing with excitement, being barely able to control his happiness. Especially if it was a girl he knew really well._

 _But instead he felt strangely… annoyed._

 _Angry, even._

" _I know this is probably a lot to take in," she said sheepishly. "I'll give you some time to think about my offer. I don't need an answer right away, but it'd be nice to-"_

" _A lot to take in?" His voice was steady, but there was no denying the edge in his tone. "That's the biggest understatement I've heard in a long time."_

 _She cocked her head at his sharpening tone. "Jaune?"_

" _Come on, Pyrrha, how am I supposed to take this? You mean to seriously tell me that you've been feeling this way about me for all this time? Christ, that speech just now almost made it sound like you were in love with me. How would you react to being told something like this?"_

 _Her eyes narrowed. "Well, not like this for a start," she said sternly. "I understand if this is a shock for you, but it's how I feel. As I said, I'm no good at admitting these things. It was difficult enough doing it now."_

" _So you thought it be better to just keep quiet? That'd it be easier to make me look like an idiot instead of confessing!?"_

 _Her eyes widened at the accusation. "A-An idiot?"_

" _Oh, come on, you've seen how I've been acting around Weiss," he snapped. "I've spent nearly everyday trying to win her over. Why didn't you stop me sooner so that you could tell me how you really felt about me?"_

 _She recoiled a little bit. "I thought it'd be wrong for me to get in the way. You clearly felt something for her, so I let you do your thing. I just wanted you to be happy."_

" _Happy!?" His temper rose at the ludicrous statement. "Pyrrha, you've always been encouraging me to keep trying with her, but I get shot down every time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you for me getting rejected, but why did you keep supporting me? I never got with Weiss, and you had to hide your feelings. Neither of us are happy!"  
_

" _I thought it might work," she stammered. "Who knows, maybe you could've got her to date you? I didn't want to risk crushing your dreams just to be with me."_

 _Now it was his turn to laugh. "You know, Pyrrha, for such a smart girl, you can be incredibly stupid at times. Your 'sacrifice' - if you're even willing to call it that - has just made me look like an idiot for all this time. Nothing I've tried with Weiss works. I look pathetic every time I try flirting with her."_

 _Her emerald eyes sparked with anger again. "You've only got yourself to blame for looking stupid," she snapped. "Anyone with eyes can see that Weiss wants nothing to do with you. I shouldn't have to be the one to tell you that."_

" _Oh, yeah, sure," he sneered. "Because you're just the queen of all things obvious, aren't you? You haven't given me the slightest hint in the past about how you really felt, and you think you have the right to get annoyed when I try dating someone else? Get real."_

" _I didn't know how!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground. "I've never been in this situation before. I don't know what to do. I don't need you giving me a hard time for being unsure about things!"_

" _Oh! You think you've got problems!?" he shouted back, his volume matching hers. "How do you think I feel after my best friend and partner drops a bombshell like this on me? Newsflash: I don't know about this, either!"_

" _Stop yelling at me!"_

 _Stop yelling at ME!"_

 _They both heaved and panted, glaring daggers at one another. This would've been their first official argument ever since becoming partners. That time on the roof when he confessed his secret and insecurities to her felt small compared to this._

 _This was the first time they were seriously angry at one another._

 _For a while they didn't say anything, they just continued to glare at each other. The noise of their heavy breathing was the only sound in the air. Both their bodies shook with anger and exhaustion after the little shouting match they had._

 _Then he felt the corner of his mouth began to twitch. The he saw Pyrrha's do the same._

 _The dark look in their eyes began to soften. Their twitching became uncontrollable until they just couldn't take it anymore._

 _They burst out laughing._

 _Whatever tension was in the air was long gone, as their laughter rang through the air. Jaune even had a few tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. Pyrrha herself looked like she was about to fall over._

 _This went on for longer than what was probably considered normal, but they still let out the odd chuckle every now and then._

" _Ah man, we sound like idiots," Jaune chuckled. He could never stay mad at her forever._

" _Well, you are my leader," she giggled. "I'm just following your example."_

" _Very funny." His laughter died down a little. His partner stared back at him smiling. It was safe to say that they were friends again._

 _Although, if what Pyrrha said was true…_

" _So, everything you told me… you were being honest with me, right?"_

 _She rolled her eyes and scoffed, but thankfully it was in a playful manner. "Of course, Jaune, don't be ridiculous."_

" _Just checking," he laughed, holding his hands up in the air. "Don't want you thinking I still can't take a hint." He lowered his hands and looked into his partner's eyes. They were beautiful, there was no denying it. The way they shone with that alluring shade of green. He felt he could stare at them forever-_

 _He quickly looked down at the ground, blushing from his own thoughts._

 _That was the first time he ever thought of his partner in such a way. He never had any trouble meeting her eyes before, but her confession had certainly shed a new light on things. Ugh, he was so confused right now!_

" _Jaune, are you okay?" she asked gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at her touch, but forced his body to relax._

" _Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. "Sorry, I'm just a little confused right now."_

" _I understand. I guess I did leave things a little too late."_

" _Too late to worry about that now." He forced himself to meet her gaze. "So… you and I?"_

 _She shrugged slightly. "Do you want to?"_

" _I mean, yeah, it could be nice. Could be great, even. I gotta be honest though, I am worried. Like, what if it doesn't work out? I don't want this to drive a wedge between us."_

 _Pyrrha bit her lip. To be fair, this was a concern. They already had a perfect friendship and partnership. Being in a relationship could damage it all if it went sourly. Not that he planned to let that happen, but if there was one thing he learned, it was that nothing in life was certain._

" _You're right, it is a risk," she agreed. "But I'd still like to give it a go. Even if it doesn't work out, I like to think we're mature enough to not let it drive us apart. Besides, I'm the one who even suggested this, so I'll feel the most responsible if things mess up."_

 _She said that, but knowing his luck, he'd probably be the one to mess things up. It would be a risk dating her..._

 _But goddamn, the rewards! The chance to date his strong, beautiful, caring and supportive partner? It sounded stupid to turn down her offer. This kind of opportunity came only once in a lifetime._

" _I'll be honest, I still find it weird that you've chosen me out of everyone else," he chuckled. "But I'm feeling pretty damn lucky that you did."_

 _Pyrrha's eyes lit up in excitement. "Is that a yes!?"_

" _Guess I'd have to be as dumb as before to say no, don't you think?"_

 _Pyrrha brought her hands to her mouth and squeed. Soon after, she immediately crashed into Jaune and pulled him into in a bone-crushing hug worthy of Nora. Jaune flailed around in her embrace, laughing and choking at the same time._

 _She quickly pulled away, looking back with a shy blush. "I'm sorry," she squeaked. "Guess I let myself get carried away there."_

" _It's fine," he wheezed. This was a great opportunity for both of them. They were both new to relationships, so they could work this out together. "What say we let Ren and Nora know about this?"_

" _Good idea. Let's go."_

 _Neither of them moved an inch. They stood staring at each other awkwardly and fidgeting on the spot. They made brief glances towards the door, but their feet remained planted on the ground._

" _So…"_

" _So what?"_

" _So, like, do we start holding hands now or something?"_

" _I don't know, do we?"_

" _I don't know."_

 _They would probably be stuck on that stupid roof until tomorrow morning._

[/]

Jaune stared up at the towering structure of the stadium. The sounds of the excited crowd murmuring inside could be heard from even where he was standing.

Three months… had it really been three months since that night on the roof?

Time sure flew by, huh?

When he revealed to Ren and Nora that he and Pyrrha were dating, he expected them to be surprised, if only a little bit. They were the ones who ended up surprising him though, with Nora shouting that it was about damn time and Ren agreeing with her.

He got a similar reaction with Team RWBY. He swore that they all said finally at the exact same time, including Weiss, the girl he once sought after.

Was he seriously that oblivious? It wasn't like it was his fault. He had never had a girl crush on him before, how was he supposed to pick up on signs?

Bah, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was that he was dating Pyrrha and he couldn't be happier because of it. Despite the risks, the two had a very stable, happy and healthy relationship, with Pyrrha looking happier than he had ever seen her before.

And today he would be watching her compete in a fighting match.

That was exciting.

Problem was, he would be watching it alongside her parents.

That was… daunting.

Okay, he was sure they were nice people. They had raised Pyrrha, after all. But he was still nervous. He wanted to leave a good impression on them and have them approve of him. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself.

So he swallowed his nerves and approached the VIP entrance to the coliseum. There was a huge line of people waiting outside the normal entrance, and he would admit, he felt a little smug passing by all of them, especially when they shot him jealous looks.

A guard with a clipboard stood at the entrance to VIP, halting him before he could proceed any further. "Gonna need your name if you wanna get in, son," he said bluntly.

"Jaune Arc. I should be on the list." Pyrrha had invited him to this match weeks in advance, assuring him she'd get him VIP access. Even if things didn't work out, he'd just pay the entry fee. There was no way he was missing this.

"Jaune Arc, Jaune Arc," the guard hummed, looking down his clipboard. "I don't see- oh, hold on,

here you are. Says here you're booked under 'top priority'. Guess it's your lucky day."

Yeah, dating the star of the show was pretty fortunate.

"Just need you to sign your name and your in," the guard said, handing the clipboard to him. Jaune looked at the section where he was listed. Only two other people were named in this section - Baldrick and Andrea Nikos.

Whilst he was signing his name, the guard spoke up again. "These are pretty exclusive seats you're getting, kid," he mused. "You win a competition or something?"

"Not exactly," he chuckled. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos' boyfriend. She's the one who invited me here."

The guard's eyes widened slightly. "Is that so?" His eyes narrowed, examining him for a bit, before chuckling lightly. "No offense, son, but I never would have guessed."

Getting judged by a doorstop. Flattering.

"Anyway, in you go," he said, lowering the thin red barrier blocking the entrance.

Jaune didn't know what to expect when going in. He had never been to something like this before. Lessons with Ms Goodwitch didn't count, because that was just a classroom to him, and he had yet to go inside Amity Colosseum. This would be his first time going to a stadium to watch a tournament match - one that his girlfriend would be fighting in.

The anticipation was killing him.

When he walked inside, he was shocked to see how fancy the place looked. The floor shone from how polished it was, the marble texture making his footsteps to echo slightly as he walked on it. A small waterfall trickled in the distance over the sound of soft music playing in the background.

There was a bar with a TV monitor in a corner of the room. Lots of smart-looking people wearing business suits were crowded around it, clinking glasses and joking together. Some sat in the rich leather chairs that decorated the room, eagerly awaiting the upcoming match.

This place certainly looked VIP. Weiss would approve, at least. He honestly felt out of place in a place like this. The people here looked way too important for him to ever mingle with. He had only shown up in his trademark hoodie and jeans. He looked ridiculous compared to these people.

Nervously, he walked around the room, ignoring the confused stares the business people were sending his way. Thankfully this was just a waiting area, and he wouldn't be here for long. He didn't know how long he could handle the awkwardness.

"You look lost, son."

Jaune turned around, only to have to look up as he tried meeting the eyes of the man behind him. Jaune was a tall person himself, but this guy easily had a good few inches over him. It didn't help that he also very muscular, giving him a very intimidating appearance. That bald head and goatee didn't make him look any more friendlier, either.

"I-I belong here," he stuttered. "I signed my name and everything, I didn't sneak in." He really didn't want to get thrown out over a misunderstanding.

The bald man rolled his eyes at his panicked state. "I'm not a bouncer, kid," he chuckled in his rumbling voice. "And don't worry, I know you're supposed to be here. I'm actually looking for you."

Whilst he was happy to hear that he wasn't getting kicked out, this only sparked new concerns. "You were… looking for me?"

"Sure was. Why wouldn't I wanna meet my daughter's boyfriend?"

Jaune had to take a second to process the information.

He was what? This guy!? This guy was Pyrrha Nikos' father!? Jaune quickly studied his face. There was nothing about this man that gave it away. He didn't even have green eyes. He could understand if he was her uncle or something, but her father? No way!

"What's the matter?" he smirked. "Can't see the family resemblance?"

Oh crap, he probably looked stupid right now. "I-I'm sorry, sir," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to be rude, I just-"

"Calm down," he laughed, ruffling his hair. "I get that all the time. Hell, I actually kinda enjoy seeing people's reactions these days. Just be grateful Pyrrha gets her looks from her mother's side of the family."

Okay, crisis averted. Now all he had to do was impress him.

"Anyway, come on, let me get you a drink." He gestured to the bar. "You might feel more relaxed after one."

"Um, yeah, sure," he said nervously, still not over his slip-up and surprise. They pushed past the business people - the bald man's appearance making them step aside - and ordered their drinks. Jaune ordered a soda, whilst the man ordered something a little stronger.

They then sat down on one of the leather chairs near the end of the room, away from the rest of the crowd. Jaune forced himself to not start squirming in his chair. He didn't want to look any more of a nervous wreck as what he probably already was.

"My name's Baldrick, by the way," the man said, sipping his drink. "Baldrick Nikos, though I suppose you already guessed the last bit."

"Nice to meet you, si-Baldrick!" Jaune said, quickly correcting himself. "I'm Jaune."

"Believe me, I know," he smirked. "My daughter won't shut up about you. I hear your name more times on a daily basis than I do my own."

Jaune blushed. Apparently, Pyrrha did like to boast about how good a boyfriend he was behind his back to her friends. Poor Nora was apparently sick to death of it, as well as Weiss and Yang. If Ruby and Blake we're getting tired of it, they hadn't expressed it yet.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that I make her feel that way," he smiled. "She means the world to me, your daughter."

"You and me both, son," Baldrick said, taking another sip of his drink. "I must say, I've never seen her act this way around anyone before. As sad as it is, making friends - let alone boyfriends - has always been hard for her, and I don't mean because she's a mean person."

"I understand," Jaune nodded. "She told me once what her fame had done to her. How she could hardly make any real friendships due to her status as a celebrity. I'm honoured that she considers Team JNPR her family away from family."

"Yes, she's definitely been happier than ever, especially with you dating her," he mused, swirling his drink in his hand. His eyes narrowed slightly and his lips stretched into a thin frown. "How did you first meet her, anyway?"

Jaune took a moment to think about the question. "Well, I suppose the first time was in the locker room before initiation. As funny as it sounds, I didn't even know who she was back then-"

"Yes, she mentioned that," Baldrick quickly cut in.

Jaune faltered slightly at the interruption, but quickly recovered. "After that, we first became partners during initiation." Jaune laughed at the memory. "She ended up saving my life by spearing me to a tree. It was only after a while did I discover that she was actively trying to make me her partner."

"So she approached you first, is what your saying?"

"In initiation? Yeah."

"Hmm, she never told us that." Baldrick looked to be deep in thought, staring at the contents of his drink for a while, before looking back up at Jaune again. "And you say you had no idea who she was until being told."

"I know it sounds hard to believe, but yeah."

"You're right, it _does_ sound hard to believe." It was probably just nerves, but Jaune could've sworn he felt the tension in the air get a little bit thicker from Baldrick's tone. "You know, Jaune, it's okay to admit that you knew her beforehand. You're already dating her, after all."

"What?" Jaune's eyes widened at the accusation. "I'm not lying, I honestly didn't. Ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing."

"With respect, Jaune, I'm having trouble believing that." He put his drink on the small table in front of them. "My daughter is an international celebrity, whether she likes it or not. She's also widely considered to be one of the strongest people alive, and an inspiration to most hunters-in-training."

He leaned in a little closer. He didn't look angry, but there was a sense of distrust in his eyes. "You mean to tell that you, an aspiring huntsman, never once heard of her?" He shook his head. "That seems very unlikely, Jaune."

"I-I honestly don't know what else to tell you. She was a total stranger to me when I first met her."

Baldrick's eyes leered into his. "How is that possible? I've seen my daughter's name practically everywhere; on posters, beauty products, even that crappy cereal. All of those just past by you, did they?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I admit, I did recognise her when I got told about the cereal part." Baldrick scoffed at that. "But I didn't know anything about her until being told. Hell, I didn't even know her name!"

Baldrick studied him for a moment, sending chills running through his body. He didn't know how he could make himself anymore honest. It was hard meeting the man's eyes, but he forced himself to do so. If he wanted to earn his respect, he couldn't back down now.

Eventually, Baldrick leaned back in his chair, but his leering gaze never left him. "You don't sound like you're lying," he murmured. "Don't even look it, either. You really had no idea…"

Jaune suddenly felt himself getting annoyed at Baldrick. He was getting sick of the man's constant doubting. "Even if I did know of her beforehand, so what?" he snapped. "My feelings for her haven't changed. A little bit of fame isn't going to make a difference in our relationship."

"So you say," Baldrick hummed, leaning again. "Tell me, Jaune - and I need you to be completely honest with me - what was your reaction upon first meeting my daughter?"

He was about to give another annoyed retort, but then he caught the look in Baldrick's expression. The older man looked concerned and, dare he say it, even a little hopeful. As if the answer he gave would put his mind at rest.

Taking a deep breath to calm his temper, Jaune considered the question before giving an answer. "I dunno, I guess I just saw a girl," he shrugged. "I thought she was pretty when first seeing her, but that was about it. It was no different from seeing any other stranger, really."

Baldrick nodded, closing his eyes as he did so, whilst Jaune awaited his response. He wished he could see what was going through the man's head.

When he opened them again, he had a small smile on his face. "You seem decent, Jaune," he said. "I had my doubts, but you seem like a good kid."

Jaune blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting to hear something like that. "Erm, thanks?"

"I'm serious, you are," he said. "There aren't many people out there who see my daughter for _who_ she is, rather than what. Pyrrha needs more of the former in her life."

"I promise you, everything I've said it true."

"I believe you," he nodded seriously. As the words left his leaps, his body relaxed and he practically slouched in his chair. "I'm sorry for questioning you like that," he said. "I've just gotta be careful, you know? There are plenty of men out there who would wish to take advantage of my daughter, whether it be for her fame or her looks."

Now the interrogation made sense. He hadn't been to thrilled to be subjugated to it, but he couldn't blame Baldrick for his caution. "No, no, I get it," he said, waving off his apology. "Pyrrha told me something similar to this once. I understand where you're coming from. You're just looking out for her."

Baldrick hummed again. "I know Pyrrha can take care of herself, but she's still a teenager. A teenager with no experience with these kind of relationships - well, until now, anyway. We all need someone watching our backs, Jaune."

"Believe me I know," he said, almost matching Baldrick's tone. "Pyrrha's saved me from trouble more times than I can count. I can always rely on her." He smiled fondly at the memories before turning serious again. "Your daughter is more than just my girlfriend, Baldrick. She's my best friend and partner. That makes her one of the most important people in my life. I will never do anything to betray her trust."

And it was true. He and Pyrrha would always be there for each other.

Always.

Baldrick stared back at him with pride in his eyes. "I'm starting to see why Pyrrha's been gushing about you. You're a good kid, Jaune, you know that?"

A sigh of relief left Jaune's lips. "I'm glad you think so." Oh wow, he was feeling a little drained after that talk. He went for another sip of his drink, only to find he had finished it long ago.

Damn, when did he do that? His body must have gone on autopilot or something.

"If it makes you feel any better," Baldrick said. "That talk we just had? You're not the first person I've had to give it to." He chuckled darkly. "Pyrrha's had many wannabe-suitors before, most of them being celebrities trying to work their way up the social ladder. Let's just say those chats don't end as pleasantly as this one did."

His grin sent shivers down Jaune's spine. "W-Well, it's nice to know I have your approval then," he laughed nervously. He wished he had more of his drink right now.

"Don't feel too safe, though," he chuckled. "My wife's still upstairs. If anyone's gonna have the final say, it's her." He then stood up and helped Jaune onto his feet. "Speaking of her, we better head up now. The match is probably about to start and I've left her up there for too long."

Baldrick led him through the hallway to a fancy-looking elevator by the stairs. He pressed a button named 'priority seats' and the two travelled upwards.

"You've never been to something like this before, have you?" Baldrick suddenly said.

"VIP? No, this is too rich for my blood," Jaune laughed. He could barely afford the nosebleed seats.

Baldrick grinned at his response. "You're in for a treat."

[/]

The elevator opened to a large room overlooking the arena. The walls were covered with a thick glass so spotless that it was easy to believe there weren't any walls at all.

A bar was at the back of the room. It was a little smaller compared to the one in the lobby, but that was because it didn't have to serve as many people. The floor was carpeted and even with their shoes on, it felt incredibly comfy to stand on.

Three massage chairs were placed in the centre of the room, giving them a perfect view of the arena. One of them was already occupied by a red-haired woman who looked up at the arriving pair, then quickly rose out of her seat to greet them.

"Oh, there you are," she said. "I was wondering what was taking so long. Any longer and you could've missed the opening."

"Like I'd ever let that happen," Baldrick laughed. "Anyway, you two haven't been introduced. Jaune, this is my wife, Andrea."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mrs Nikos," Jaune said, holding out his hand. Looking at her, it was easy to see where Pyrrha got her looks form. Andrea was a tall woman, perhaps only a few inches shorter than her daughter, with dark red hair that stopped just above her shoulders. Her green eyes were a little duller than her daughter's, but still looked very pretty.

As for Baldrick, it seemed the only thing Pyrrha inherited from him was his last name.

"Just call me Andra, dear," she said, shaking his hand. Her eyes widened slightly as she got a good look at him. "Oh my. You look different than what I imagined you to be."

"Is that so?" Jaune chuckled. "Hopefully that's a good thing."

"Oh it is, don't worry. From the way Pyrrha describes you, I expected someone flashy and extravagant. You're one of the most normal looking people I've ever met."

Jaune blinked. Did he hear that right, or was he being commended for looking average? You know, the thing he had spent his entire life trying to avoid?

"I, uh, I'm glad you think so," he said, unsure how to reply to that. It was one of the weirdest compliments he had ever got.

"Let me explain myself," she laughed. "You see, I'm just so used to seeing hunters and huntresses wearing ridiculous clothes and and carrying weapons the size of cars. Even their hair can look odd at times. I'm just saying it's refreshing to see one who looks like a normal person. It's a good thing, I promise."

Ah, that made sense. Especially since he had snuck his way into Beacon to become a hunter. Maybe another reason he got rejected was because he didn't look weird enough? Maybe he should've considered dying his hair. Or even just dressing differently, like pulling up one sock higher than the other.

Seriously, why did Yang do that?

"Oh, well, thank you very much," he said. "I promise, I'm one of the most normal people you'll ever meet."

"Lovely to hear," she smiled. "Hunters need that little bit of humanity to them. It reminds us simple civilians that even though they have an incredible duty, they're still people at the end of the day."

"You degrading our daughter for being special?" Baldrick teased his wife.

"Pyrrha will always be the exception and you know it," she said with an eye-roll. "And hundreds of people will be reminded of that today."

Oh yeah, the match. He had been so nervous about meeting Pyrrha's parents, he had almost forgotten that. And boy oh boy, did they have the best seats in the house to view it. The box they were seated in was just far enough to be a safe distance from the arena, yet the view they had made sure that they didn't miss a bit of the action.

There was truly no better way to watch the match than how they were now.

"Now come on, sit down." Andrea shooed them to their seats. "They must be getting ready to announce the fighters now."

Jaune quickly sat down in his chair, seating in the seat on the far left. His body instantly appreciated the warm, comfy seat that the room provided. It was so relaxing to sit back in even without the massage function turned on. It probably cost a fortune, but he'd have to get one for his dorm room one day.

"You know, I was surprised when Pyrrha told me about this," he said, leaning back into his oh so comfortable chair. "I wasn't aware there were anymore tournament matches happening. I thought everyone was getting ready for Vytal?"

"This is no tournament match, dear," Andrea said. "In fact, there's not even a winning prize for the victor. Pyrrha wasn't even contracted to compete in this. She volunteered to fight in this one."

"Volunteered? And for no prize? What for?" Weren't athletes supposed to compete for some kind of reward? Why would she take part in this if there was nothing to be gained? Pyrrha didn't usually do things without a purpose to them.

"Two reasons. This first one being that this match is the winning prize for a previous tournament winner."

Say what? How was having to fight against Pyrrha Nikos considered a prize? Whoever organised this must have been a sadist or something.

"A while ago there was a tournament being held in Vacuo," Andrea continued. "The winner of the tournament was offered hundreds of lien if they won. But when it came to collecting his prize, the winner rejected it. Instead, he wanted something else for winning the tournament."

"The chance to fight the Champion of Mistral," Baldrick grinned. "If he had any sense, he'd have taken the money and scrammed."

"Vacuo held onto the money to pay for this match, in case Pyrrha accepted the offer." Andrea chuckled at the sound of her daughter's name. "Don't let her demeanour fool you, Jaune. Pyrrha has one of the fiercest competitive streaks you'll ever see. She agreed to it almost instantly."

Actually he did know about her competitive nature. She did a good job of hiding it, but he could definitely see her fierceness when she was in the Ms Goodwitch's sparring arena. It was subtle, but it was definitely there, especially when you caught the look in her eyes as she fought. Pyrrha Nikos was a warrior through and through.

"So, she's doing this because it's what that Vacuo guys always wanted?" Jaune asked. It was certainly in her nature to be charitable and do nice things for people.

"Well, yes, there is that," Andrea smirked. "But that was only half of the reason. Our Pyrrha is a very humble person, but as much as she likes deny it, she loves to show off her skills whenever she can." She nudged his shoulder with a cheeky smirk. "Especially to the right people~"

Oh… oh wow.

"You mean to say… she's fighting because she wants to impress me?"

"I told you, she's head over heels for you," Baldrick said. "So let's hope she doesn't trip up or anything, otherwise she probably won't be able to look you in the eye for the rest of the day."

Lose? Pyrrha? Those two words didn't go together at all.

"Baldrick! Don't jinx it now!" Andrea hissed, slapping her husband's arm. "You should be supporting her!"

"Bah, she knows I'm always with her," he scoffed. "If anything, I feel sorry for her opponent. His winning prize is to get his ass kicked by the finest fighter around? Poor guy must be a glutton for punishment."

"Should make for one hell of a fight, though," Jaune said, eyes glued to the arena in front of him. His heart was racing in anticipation.

Pyrrha was fighting to impress him! _Him_! The idea of having someone fight in his name blew his mind. In the most masculine way he could think this, he felt like a princess watching her knight in shining armour head off to battle.

…

Okay, that didn't sound masculine at all, but goddammit, he could've swooned right now.

"At least someone knows how to show support," Andrea nodded to him. "You could learn a thing or two from this one, Baldrick."

"Fair point, maybe he can teach me how to get a new red-haired lover," he chided. "My one's getting old."

Before a fight could break out between the two, the actual fight of the day was beginning to get started. The monitors surrounding the arena turned on and an announcer walked into the centre of the arena. Dramatic music started playing, setting the mood for what was soon to come. Jaune's hands gripped the armrests tightly in excitement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fight of the season!" The announcer cheered into his mic, his voice spreading throughout the whole stadium. "In the red corner, hailing all the way from Mistral. She goes by many names; the Invincible Girl, the Champion of Mistral, the Goddess of Victory. But there is one name we all know her by. Put your hands together for Pyrrha Nikos!"

The crowd burst into cheers, as did Jaune. At the sight of his girlfriend walking into the arena looking larger than life, he started clapping at the speed of a demented seal. Even Baldrick and Andrea were giving him surprised looks at his enthusiasm.

Jaune was surprised to see Pyrrha basking in the cheers and applause being sent her way. For someone who hated being put on a pedestal, she looked to be appreciating the praise aimed at her. She gave the audience a wave and a smile, before looking up at the box he was in. She probably couldn't see him from that distance, but her smile grew bigger than ever when she looked at it.

"Good luck, Pyrrha!" he called out. Not that she would need it, of course, but he needed to voice his support.

"And in the blue corner, the proud winner of the Vacuo Regional Tournament. After challenging Ms Nikos personally after his big win, this young man is the reason we're all here today. Here to dethrone Mistral's champion, let's hear it for Aero Steins!"

The crowd cheered and applauded again. Jaune clapped too, only with a little less enthusiasm as before. Out from the other entrance came a thin, tanned boy with a buzzcut, dressed in a mixture of brown and green. He wore light clothing that consisted of leather armour with a short cape on the back of it, metal gauntlets, casual trousers and running shoes.

He walked up to Pyrrha and Jaune was surprised to see how short he was. Pyrrha was already tall for a girl, but this guy looked like he was only about Weiss' height. He looked a bit silly standing next to someone of her height, especially because he was a boy.

He didn't seem to mind this though, as he immediately walked up to her and shook her hand. Pyrrha was surprised at the gesture, but happily returned it. A little sportsmanship before a match was always a good thing.

"A bit puny that one, isn't he?" Baldrick grunted.

"Careful, he's Vacuo's champion for a reason," Andrea said. "There's no doubt he's stronger than he looks."

"It doesn't matter," Jaune smiled. "He doesn't have anything on Pyrrha." His girlfriend was gonna wipe the floor with him.

The two agreed with him and looked back at the arena. The two fighters got into their positions, weapons at the ready. Pyrrha readied her spear and shield, whilst Aero twirled his dagger in his hand ominously. The two were staring down, gazes locked as they waiting for their cue to fight.

Jaune's breathing got a little heavier. He knew Pyrrha was going to win this, but tensions were high. This certainly wouldn't be an easy fight, and Pyrrha would have to give it her all if she was going to win. He was already planning his victory cheer in his head when she won.

"BEGIN!"

Pyrrha threw her shield at him the moment she heard the announcer. The shield span through the air at the speed of a bullet, ready to send Aero flying.

But Aero dodged it with impressive reflexes, bending his body backwards so that it sailed over his face. Recovering into backwards handstand, Aero stood up and aimed one of his gauntlets at Pyrrha. Pyrrha got ready to counter by using her semblance to send her shield flying back at him.

Clenching his fist, Aero's gauntlets made a clicking noise and a gun barrel appeared out of it. For a second it looked like he was about to shoot bullets at her, but a small cannister fired out of it and landed on the ground next to her.

 _*BANG*_

A bright light appeared for a moment. The audience members were same from the brief flash thanks to the forcefield, but Pyrrha was another story. Her once perfect posture was a stumbling mess as she rubbed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her. She was completely disoriented.

"Flashbangs!?" Jaune cried out. "Are those even legal!?" Sure, hunters used some pretty overpowered weapons - Nora fighting with grenades came to mind - but this still felt like cheating!

"Must be if he's allowed to use them," Andrea muttered.

Jaune grumbled. It still didn't feel right. Sending someone sky-high was one thing, but taking away their vision was just plain rude. At least, he thought so.

Despite Pyrrha's stumble, her shield was still flying back at him from behind. Aero seemed to know this however, and jumped in the air just before the shield hit him. To everyone's surprise, he then landed on the shield and rode whilst it was flying back towards Pyrrha.

Pyrrha, being unable to do anything due to her blind state, had no way of protecting herself from the shield. It slammed into her, knocking her off her feet from the impact. As soon as the shield made contact with her, Aero jumped off it and planted his feet on her face, using it as a launchpad to propel himself to safety.

Pyrrha crashed to the ground from the weight of it all. Her aura bar shown on the monitor began to deplete by a noticeable amount.

"Damn it," Jaune hissed, gripping his armrest in frustration. He had never seen Pyrrha get knocked down like that before. He hated it.

"Calm down," Baldrick said. "This is Pyrrha we're talking about. It's gonna take more than a few cheap tricks to knock her out."

"But what if he keeps using those flashbangs? How do you fight what you can't see."

"She'll find a way, trust me. You just gotta believe in her."

Everything about this fight was worrying, but Jaune forced himself to calm down. Maybe it was just him being protective of his girlfriend, but this fight was already off to a rocky start. If Aero kept pulling stunts like that, she would be in serious trouble.

But he forced himself to breath. As Baldrick said, she would find a way. He didn't know how, but she would. All he could do now was show his support. She _was_ going to win this fight.

He saw Pyrrha struggle back onto her feet, blinking away her disorientation. It looked like she had gained her sight back, as she turned around to meet her opponent, who was standing safely at a distance. The fight could begin again.

Transforming Milo into its rifle form, Pyrrha fired several shots at Aero. The arena was a flat, coverless landscape, meaning there was nowhere to hide from the bullets. Aero's reflexes were excellent, but if he wanted to stop her shooting at him, he would have to make her stop.

So he closed in, dodging more bullets as he got closer. He raised his gauntlets to shoot more flashbangs at her, but Pyrrha was ready for him this time and charged at him with her shield. Before he could get hit though, Aero ran up the front of the shield and jumped over her, flipping through the air and firing two more flashbangs.

Pyrrha instantly reacted by raising her shield over her head, covering her eyes from the incoming explosion.

 _*BANG* *BANG*_

Even though they didn't blind her this time, the noise must have had her ears ringing. Aero landed beside her, and she smacked him in the face with the front of her shield to punish him. Aero stumbled from the attack, very nearly falling on the floor. He quickly found his footing though, and blocked her incoming attack with Milo with his dagger.

Pyrrha pressed down on him, using her height and strength to her advantage. Aero's dagger was a small weapon that was just barely blocking Milo. Her strength was bringing him to his knees.

But then, Aero's foot shot out and caught her in the jaw. She cried out in shock and stumbled back, giving Aero the chance to jump back on his feet and start quickly jabbing at her with his dagger. She blocked each incoming strike with her shield, but his speed was forcing her back. The boy may not have been as strong as her, but he moved as swift as the wind.

After several more quick jabs and strikes, Aero made a sweep for her legs with the dagger. For a second it looked like the blade wouldn't even reach her shins, until he pulled the trigger on the handle. With a click, the blade extended itself, turning the dagger into shortsword.

The blade swept Pyrrha's legs out from underneath her and she fell to the ground with a yelp. She barely had time to lean up as Aero aimed a gauntlet at her.

 _*BANG*_

Another flashbang, right in her face. She didn't even have the chance to cover her eyes.

Pyrrha was scrambling on the floor, desperately trying to hear her opponent as her eyes were failing her. When she finally picked herself up again, she saw she only had her shield in her hand. She looked around the arena to find her spear, when she heard a whistle behind her.

Aero was standing at the far end of the arena, twirling his dagger in one hand and Milo in the other.

"Son of a bitch," Jaune growled under his breath. This guy was a slippery little prick.

Pyrrha looked about annoyed as his was when she saw Aero with her weapon. "Give that back," she snarled, reaching out with her hand and activating her Semblance. Milo glowed black and started to shake in Aero's hand. Soon it would fly out of his hand and back into hers.

But when Milo flew back to her, Aero held on tightly and travelled with it. When he was close enough, he kicked her in the face and flew past her. Pyrrha gasped in pain and stumbled back, whilst Aero landed saftely on the ground with a spin.

"So he knows about her Semblance?" Andrea hummed. "He's done his homework, I'll give him that."

"The only thing he's doing is cheating," Jaune snarled. "You can't just take someone's weapon like that. It's not fair."

"There's nothing against it in the rules, Jaune," Andrea said. "I hate to admit it, but he's playing fair."

"But how is she supposed to fight back!?" Her shield could only protect her for so long. If he kept fighting like this, she would be a goner.

"Boy, didn't I already tell you?" Baldrick looked at him with a calm smile. "This is _Pyrrha_ we're talking about. She'll pull through. She always does."

Groaning, Jaune sat back in his chair and tried to control himself. Yeah, Pyrrha was incredible, but this fight was too nerve wracking to stay calm for.

Aero charged in and swung at her, dual-wielding both his dagger and Milo. Pyrrha could only block with her shield, and whilst she was doing a good job at defending herself from his attacks, she couldn't stop everything. Aero was fast, and a lot of his strikes were chipping away at her aura.

But Pyrrha held strong, even trying to repel him back with some shield bashes and kicks. Unfortunately, they were all only blind strikes, last-ditch efforts to ward him off. Some of her attacks hit him, but he didn't stop his assault.

Getting tired and frustrated, she hurled her shield at him before he could make another strike. It hit him in the chest and sent him off his feet, hurtling towards the forcefield in the arena. Things looked hopeful, until he controlled his momentum and planted his feet on the forcefield the moment he touched it.

He then launched himself off of it, hurtling towards Pyrrha with blades aiming at her. She just about blocked the attack with her shield when it returned to her, but the force of the attack had her spinning slightly. Aero landed smoothly enough from his attack, and took advantage of her confusion by running up to kick her in the back.

Pyrrha cried out and landed face first on the arena floor. Her aura was still yellow, but the bar seemed to be getting shorter every time.

"No!" Jaune shouted, getting up out of his chair and banging his fist against the glass. Aero was destroying her and she didn't even have a proper way to fight back. This wasn't fair at all!

"Careful, Jaune," Andrea called out to him. "You'll only hurt yourself if you hit that too hard."

Jaune barely heard her. His vision was locked on the spot Pyrrha was lying in. She was struggling to her knees and sweat was running down her body. She was not looking well at all. Aero was draining her of everything she had thanks to how quick he moved.

 _Come on, Pyr, get up!_ He pressed his hand on the glass and leaned in closer, trying to give her any kind of sign that he was here and that he believed in her. _You can do it!_

As if on cue, Pyrrha's head leaned up towards the glass box that he was housed in. Whether she could see him or not was anyone's guess, but Jaune felt a warm surge of hope course through him. It almost felt like his thoughts were finally getting through to her.

His girlfriend was the strongest person alive. There was nothing she couldn't handle.

And that's why she was going to _win_!

Aero came up behind her, twirling both blades in his hand and raised them above his head. With enough force, it could've potentially been the finishing blow.

But Pyrrha kicked him hard in the kneecap before he could strike. His body buckled from the pain and his attack was lost. Back on her feet, she uppercutted him square in the jaw, and his little body went flying until it crashed back onto the ground.

Jaune's cheer echoed with the rest of the crowd. Pyrrha was finally making a comeback. Now all that was left was to school this guy.

But whilst Aero was struggling back on his feet, Jaune took a second to notice Aero's aura. Looking at it, it was already dipping heavily into the yellow zone, even though Pyrrha hadn't even hit him that much during the fight. In fact, that uppercut she delivered had knocked a huge chunk of it away.

Maybe… maybe the reason for that was because he had only a small amount of aura?

Jaune wasn't the strongest fighter, he would be the first to admit it. But he always did have a brain for strategy.

That would've explained Aero's need to be quicker than his opponents. His aura and physical defense was really weak. If Pyrrha could exploit that, she would win this!

"Pyrrha, you've gotta grab him!" he shouted, banging on the glass. It wouldn't break, so there was no danger on how hard he hit. She needed to hear this. "Grab him and you can destroy his aura!"

Of course she didn't hear him, for he was too far away and inside a glass box. His advice went unheard as she charged back at Aero. At least she was starting to get back into the swing of things.

Jaune didn't once go back to his seat. He stayed pressed against the glass almost like he was glued to it. This was too intense for him to sit down for. He stayed rooted to the spot as he prayed for his girlfriend to be victorious.

Thankfully, Pyrrha was fighting more offensively this time, though that was likely due to anger than her listening to his advice. She bashed her shield against the face of the dazed Aero, knocking him back further into the arena. Aero tried countering by bringing the blades down on her, but she blocked them with her shield and swiped them away, leading her to punch him in the nose.

Aero hissed in pain and stumbled back, dropping Milo onto the floor. Pyrrha instantly used her polarity to snatch it back in her hand, using it to stab at him as revenge for his thievery. Aero had good swordplay, but his movements were sloppy due to that punch. He was slipping up.

Their blades clashed, bringing the two to a standstill as they locked against each other. Knowing he couldn't match Pyrrha's strength, Aero pulled the trigger on his weapon, turning the shortsword into a dagger again. The blade slid away from Milo and Aero jumped to the side to jab at Pyrrha.

The dagger sliced against her skin, getting a yelp of pain out of her. But Pyrrha anticipated the next jab and blocked it with her shield. The dagger bounced off the surface and Aero's arm wobbled from the impact, causing him to stumble slightly.

Pyrrha punished his mistake by kicking him in the stomach pushing him away from her.

Aero staggered back, his breathing becoming haggard. He was running out of breath. All that speed from earlier had nearly left him spent. Pyrrha just had to keep pushing on the offense.

But Aero wasn't out yet. He raised his gauntlets at her and fired two flashbangs. They went straight for her face and very nearly hit her-

-except, just at the last minute, Pyrrha deflected them with her shield and sent them hurtling back at him. His eyes went wide at what was soon to come.

 _*BANG* *BANG*_

Jaune grinned as he watched Aero get a taste of his own medicine. The swift-footed hunter was staggering around as he tried to find his bearings.

Pyrrha responded to this by throwing her shield at him one last time. This time, Aero made no fancy maneuvers to dodge it, as the shield slammed into him and carried him across the arena, until his back crashed into the forcefield. The barrier flickered violently from the impact, sending pulsewaves all around it.

Aero's body twitched in pain and was left suspended in the air, until Pyrrha called her shield back and he landed on the ground with his face buried in the floor.

"Ow…" he weakly muttered as he was left lying on the ground. His aura finally gave way as soon as he said the word.

All that was left standing was Pyrrha.

"Aero's aura has been depleted. The winner is Pyrrha Nikos!"

Jaune roared alongside the crowd, clapping and cheering for his girlfriend who was beaming under the praise. The buzzer that went off signified the end of the match, making Pyrrha's win confirmed.

She had won! Of course she had won!

Winning and Pyrrha always went hand in hand, but it was still incredible to watch her pull through. The pride he had for his girlfriend was overwhelming him!

He couldn't wait any longer. He rushed out of the box to meet her. He didn't know where he would find her in the stadium, but he was VIP. He likely had access to everywhere in the place. And he had enough energy to search all over.

"What did I tell you?" Baldrick chuckled. "We had nothing to worry about." Jaune didn't give him an answer, for he was already out the door. He just managed to hear her parents laughing at his enthusiasm.

He nearly tripped over his own feet from how fast he was running. Several onlookers looked at him as if he was mad. He sprinted past them without a care in the world. Nothing else mattered right now.

He had a girlfriend to congratulate.

[/]

He found Pyrrha getting some water in a room reserved for fighters only. He almost wasn't allowed entrance, until Pyrrha shooed the guards away the moment she saw him.

He picked her up and spun her around the moment he stepped inside the room.

"And here she is - the greatest huntress who ever lived!" Jaune laughed as he spun her in his arms.

"Jaune!" she laughed with the same enthusiasm. "Put me down, I probably stink after all that running around."

She absolutely did not, but he gently lowered her to the ground anyway. He still held her close to him, his arms wrapped around her waist whilst hers came around his neck.

"Oh my God, Pyrrha, you were incredible!"

"You really think so?" she giggled, slightly blushing underneath the praise. "I admit, that was a tough one for me. That Aero guy really gave it his all. I'm still dizzy from all those flashbangs."

"Yeah, he looked tough," he said, kissing her forehead. "But you were better. You'll always be number one."

"Okay, now you're just teasing me~"

"I'm serious, you were awesome back there!" Had he been in her situation, he probably would've panicked under the pressure. "I don't know how you do it, but you always find a way through every situation."

"Well, I guess it helped that I had a certain someone watching me," she cheekily said. "It would've been pretty bad of me to fail in front of him, wouldn't it?"

He had almost forgot that she fought to impress him. He didn't think it was possible to feel anymore proud than how he was right now. He felt his face rapidly warming, earning a merry laugh from his girlfriend.

"I was calling out to you, you know," Jaune said. "I noticed that Aero had a low amount of aura, so I tried telling you to grab onto him so that you could break his poor defense. I don't suppose you heard that?"

"I did not," she admitted. "You were too far away from me to hear you. I'll be honest, I only fought more aggressively in the last moments because I got frustrated."

He laughed. Yeah, that was fair enough. Besides, it worked, didn't it?

"I did see you, though," she said softly. "When I was knocked down, I got a look at you in the box. You were pressed up against the glass. You looked worried about me."

Yeah, he remembered that. For a moment it felt like she might've actually lost the fight. If Aero had landed his attack, her aura would've been destroyed. It was painful to watch for him.

"That's when I knew I couldn't let you down. This might sound funny, but I wanted to prove myself to you. If I lost in front of you… well, it simply wouldn't do."

Jaune's grip on her tightened. The idea of anyone having to prove anything to him was laughable. Flattering, but laughable.

"Pyrrha, I already know what you're capable of. You're always gonna have my support, win or no win." He grinned at the last bit. "Not that the latter is ever gonna happen, though."

"I know, I know," she said. "But this was probably your first time seeing me compete like this. I just wanted to make you proud of me."

He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm always gonna be. I think you already know this."

"Maybe," she hummed. "I just wanted to hear you say it~"

"Cheeky," he grinned, looking deep into those beautiful green eyes of hers. He then leaned in closer until their lips met, getting a muffled giggle of satisfaction from her. Her hands played with his hair as they deepened the kiss, unaware of the two visitors entering the room.

"Are we interrupting anything?" came a male voice behind him.

The two quickly pulled away, blushing like crazy as they released themselves from each others grip. Pyrrha quickly dusted herself off and stood up straighter to greet her parents, who were standing in the doorway looking way to smug.

"Um, Mother, Father, this is Jaune." She awkwardly waved at him. "He's the one I've been talking about. He's a very nice guy, an excellent leader and I think you'll-"

"Yes, we know, dear," Andrea chuckled. "We've had more than enough time to get to know each other."

"Yes, of course," she sighed. "But still, he is such a wonderful person and I have no doubt you'll all get along-"

"Yeah, yeah, your boyfriend's the Messiah," Baldrick said with an eye-roll. "We'll praise him after we're done with you. This is your moment, after all."

"You were fantastic as always, sweetheart," Andrea smiled. "That boy didn't know what he was getting himself into by facing you."

"Mother," Pyrrha giggled. "We actually spoke to each other briefly after the battle. He's a really nice guy and was just happy about getting the chance to fight me."

"Well, if getting beaten up by a superstar is what he wants, good luck to him." Baldrick checked his watch and headed back to the door. "Now then, if we're all done here, what say we head home for a victory meal. If we're lucky, we can just catch the next airship."

"I'm ready when you are," Pyrrha said, taking Jaune's hand in hers. She blushed when she saw her parents notice the action, but didn't release her grip.

"Likewise," Jaune agreed. "I'm looking forward to seeing your home."

"Hopefully, it should be a little more quieter than this place," Andrea joked, walking through the door that Baldrick was holding open. The young couple followed after her, and they headed to the nearest airship station.

[/]

Toyako was a very quiet village in Mistral. It rested in a woodland area, yet was close enough to the main city so that it had some protection. It sorta reminded Jaune of where he grew up, before he left that life behind to become a huntsman.

Pyrrha's house was built slightly away from the village, resting in the woods outside of it. It was built close enough to walk to the village, but still far enough to give them their own space. Still, the villagers of Toyako didn't seem like the type to intrude on their privacy.

Andrea had cooked them all a delicious meal for Pyrrha's victory. She had actually made it beforehand, knowing that her daughter would win the fight. Her belief in Pyrrha was absolute.

The atmosphere was relaxed as they enjoyed their dinner. When it was over, Pyrrha invited Jaune up to her room. Before Baldrick could give some elementary school warning about safe sex, the two quickly excused themselves and headed upstairs.

"-this one I got when I was still at Sanctum. It was one of the happiest days of my life."

Jaune was currently sat on her bed, listening to her talk about the awards she had on display in her room. She spoke so quickly due to her excitement, that he was having a hard time keeping up with her.

"And this one I got during my second tournament win. God, I still can't believe I won that one."

Yeah, she had a lot of awards…

"And this one… okay, it's just from winning a spelling bee competition, but it means something to me-"

"Pyrrha?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry," she nervously laughed, putting the dainty plaque back on the shelf. "I tend to get excited when thinking about these."

"I'll say," he half-joked. It felt like he had been sitting on that bed for hours. "You know, for someone who claims to hate the spotlight, you seem pretty proud of all these achievements."

She looked back at her award shelf with a fond smile. "Why wouldn't I be proud of them? Sure, some are more valuable than others, but I worked hard earning them all. They're all important to me."

Well, she certainly had a lot to be proud of. Her shelf was cluttered with so many trophies that he could barely see the surface on which they stood on.

"I'm sure they are, I'm just saying I don't think I've ever seen you this lively before. At least, when it comes to talking about your achievements." Usually when someone brought up her reputation, she'd try to dismiss it as much as possible.

If that person persisted, she'd do everything in her power to try and avoid that person.

"It's different with you," she sighed. "I could never talk about these things with some random person, especially if they were a fan of mine. It'd only support this untouchable image they have of me. With you, I know nothing changes. You still see me as a normal person."

"A normal person with more trophies than she knows what to do with." Seriously, if she melted them all down, she could probably make a brand new weapon out of them.

"You know what I mean," she groaned. "You'll never treat me differently because of my achievements."

"Nah, but I'll probably feel plenty jealous about them," he joked. He could only dream of winning as many as what she had.

"Well, that's your problem then, not mine," she grinned, coming over to sit by his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers. He gladly accepted the gesture, and rested his head atop hers.

For a moment they just sat in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"You know," she eventually said. "I haven't actually showed these to anyone outside of my family. You're the first one to see them all."

"Guess that explains why you were so excited when talking about them."

"Can you blame me? It was my first time showing them off." She giggled slightly at the thought. "Maybe I did go a bit overboard explaining them, though."

"Not at all. In fact, your enthusiasm was refreshing." He kissed the top of her head lightly. "That back there was how anyone would react. You should be proud of your accomplishments, Pyrrha."

"I am," she said softly. "Believe me, I am. But they come at a price. All of these awards prove that I have talent, and whether I like it or not, that talent separates me from most people. Standing out from a crowd is fine for a little while, but it prevents me from forming any meaningful relationships."

She laughed weakly at the sound of her words. "I'll be honest, Jaune. Before Beacon, before Team JNPR, I was a very lonely person."

That hurt to hear coming from her. Pyrrha was such a lively, outgoing person, it was hard to imagine her ever having no friends. It sucked that even positive things had consequences.

He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I promise you, Pyrrha, when you're with us, you'll never have to feel that way ever again. Especially when you're around me."

"I know," she said in a firm but happy tone. "People like Ren and Nora rare." She looked up at him with a smile and pecked him on the lips. "And guys like you are even rarer."

"You give me too much credit," he chuckled bashfully. She responded to that with another kiss.

"Didn't you just tell me to be proud of myself a few seconds ago?" she teased. "Take your own advice, Jaune."

"I will when I've got as many trophies as you," he laughed, returning her kiss with one of his own. The collapsed on the bed and held each other close. Their kissing became slightly more frantic, each speeding up the pace on how they were kissing each other.

They found themselves soon running out of breath, and ended their quick kisses with one last lingering one, before pulling away and gasping for air. They both stared at each other adoringly, with Pyrrha stroking his face with her hand.

"You know, if anyone told me that one day I'd be the boyfriend of a gorgeous celebrity, I would've told them to get their brain checked."

"You didn't even know I was a celebrity until much later," she laughed.

"That makes it even better," he smiled. He took a moment to reflect on everything the two had been through. "Three months… that's how long it's been since we got together, you know."

"I don't know where the time went."

Hah. He had been wondering the same thing earlier today. And even though it went quickly, he cherished every second of it.

It was probably no exaggeration that his life would've been completely different without her. He was a boy filled with self-doubt and uncertainty, sneaking his way into Beacon just to fulfill what many would consider to be a fool's dream.

And whilst his confidence still wasn't the best, Pyrrha stuck by him every step of the way. A few simple words of encouragement from her made him feel like he could take on the world.

Really, it was people like her who were rare in life, and not just because of her achievements.

"Pyrrha... can I tell you something?"

"What is it?"

"You were the first person to ever believe in me."

She rolled her eyes. "Jaune, I'm sure-"

"Let me finish," he said softly but firmly. Her eyes widened slightly, but she let him continue. "What I mean is, you were the first person who truly believed I could become a hunter. I love my family, but they really didn't want me becoming one as they thought I wasn't strong enough. My father, a huntsman himself, tried talking me out of it several times."

"Not you, though. Even after learning my secret, you still stuck by me. You believed in me, and so I started believing in myself. That means more to me than what you could ever imagine."

She smiled sweetly at him. "You deserved it, Jaune," she said. "You're one of the most motivated people I have ever met. You deserved that chance to follow your dream. All I did was give you a little push in the right direction."

"Maybe, but I still feel like this needs to be said."

He smiled back at her and captured her lips with his own. The kiss lasted longer than the previous one, and when he pulled away, he made sure he was looking directly in her eyes as he spoke.

"Thank you, Pyrrha. Thank you for believing in me."

* * *

 **La End.**

 **So, looking at my stories, some people might assume that I don't like Arkos. It's a fair assumption, but one that's untrue. As of now, I will give you all my full, honest opinion on how I feel about Arkos.**

 **Meh.**

 **That's literally it. I am neither for nor against it. I didn't really care for it in the show, but I can see why people like it. Before 'yall start raising pitchforks against me, I feel this way about pretty much every canon ship in the show. Black Sun? Meh. Iceberg? Meh. Renora? Slightly less meh considering their backstory.**

 **I guess the reason for this is because I always felt these relationships were weirdly handled in the show. Pyrrha's attraction came seemingly out of nowhere - she had her reasons, I know, but in V1? Yeah, it was very sudden - Weiss' attraction for Neptune seemed way ooc for her, and Blake and Sun seem to be together simply because they're both faunus. I feel like they paired the characters first, and only wrote their reasons for it afterwards in later volumes, when it really should've been the other way round.**

 **As such, the canon ships in the show don't interest me. Crack ships on the other hand? Oh, I've had a lot of fun reading those. The risks and the possibilities in those stories are more interesting to me than whatever canon can offer.**

 **So yeah, that's my opinion on Arkos and the canon ships. Please don't feel offended, this is just my two cents on things.**

 **Anyway, Ren's chapter will be next, and I'll reveal what the next theme will be at the end of his. It likely won't be as long as this one, as this was kinda me easing the pain of my readers xD**

 **As always, thank you for reading.**


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